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AUTHOR: 


NICHOLS,  FRANCIS 

MORGAN 


TITLE: 


THE  ROMAN  FORUM 


PLACE: 


LONDON 


DA  TE : 


\^'n 


Restrictions  on  Use: 


COLUMBIA  UNIVERSITY  LIBRARIES 
PRESERVATION  DEPARTMENT 

BIBLIOGRAPHIC  MICROFORM  TARGET 


Original  Material  as  Filmed  -  Existing  Bibliographic  Record 


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Nichols,  Francis  Morgan,  1826-1915. 

The  Roman  Forum ;  a  topographical  study,  by  Francis  j 

Morgan  Nichols  ...    London,  Longmans  and  co. ;  [etc.,  etc.]  \ 

1877.  ' 

2  p.  1.,  X,  336  p.    front,  illus.,  plans.    23*".  j 

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:'aps  and  plans  of  the  I-'orun  of  Rone  and  its 

neighborhood,  fron  Nicholas  Roman  Forum.   London, 
Longmans,  1877.   ^5^  p., 5  maps   22?r  cm. 
1.  Rome  (City)  ,  Forum  romanum. 


Library  of  Congress 


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Claas     §^g  Book    N  512. 

Coiuinbia  College  Library 

Madison  Av.  and  49th  St.  New  York. 

Beside  the  main  topic  this  book  also  treats  of 


Suhjeci  No 


On  page 


Subject  No. 


On  page 


This  book  is  due  two  weeks  from  the  last  date 
stamped  below,  and  if  not  returned  or  renewed  at  or 
before  that  time  a  fine  of  five  cents  a  day  will  be  incurred. 


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THE  ROMAN  FORUM. 


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THE    ROMAN  FORUM 


A  TOPOGRAPHICAL  STUDY 


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V        N  .  YO  %  K  . 

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BY 


FRANCIS  MORGAN  ^:ICHOLS  M.A.  F.S.A 

FORMERLY  FELLOW  OF  WADHAM  COLLEGE  OXFORD 


LONDON.     LONGMANS  AND  CO. 
ROME.    8PITH6VER 

]877 


[The  right  of  translation  is  7'eserved.] 


WESTMINSTER  : 

PRINTED  BY  J.  B.  NICHOLS  AND  SONS, 

25,  PARLIAMENT  STREET. 


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CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  I. 

The  North-western  Division  of  tlie  Forum,  from  the  Tabularium  ^^^^ 
to  the  Temple  of  Saturn  and  Arch  of  Severus    ...         1 

CHAPTER  II. 
The  Mid-Forum ^^ 

CHAPTER  III. 

The  South-eastern  Division  of  the  Forum         ....       97 

CHAPTER  IV. 

The  Comitium,  the    Curia,  and   other   monuments   upon   the 

Comitium       ••.....  14^ 

CHAPTER  V. 
The  Rostra    .....         ^  *  ,q« 

CHAPTER  VI. 

The  North-eastern  Side  of  the  Mid- Forum       .         .         .         .218 

CHAPTER  VII. 
The  Argiletum  and  the  Imperial  Fora 244 

CHAPTER  VIII. 
The  Sacra  Via  and  the  Velia 276 

CHAPTER  IX. 

The  Nova  Via      .         .         .  oak 

APPENDIX. 

Catalogue  of  the  Fourth  and   Eighth  Regions  of  Rome,  from 

the  Curiosum  Urbis  and  Notitia       ....  39a 

C 


13B10 


CONTENTS. 


1 

;, 


MAPS. 

The  Forum  in  the  Time  of  Constantine 

The  Excavations  of  the  Forum,  with  the  surrounding  Streets    . 
The  Fragments  of  the  Capitoline  Plan  relating  to  the  Forum    . 
The  Forum  in  the  time  of  Augustus         ..... 
North  Corner  of  the  Forum  B.C.  150 

The  Roman  Forum,  with  the  surrounding  Fora  and  Streets,  in 
the  time  of  Constantine . 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 

Frontispiece.     The  Forum   in   the  second   century,  from   the 

Temple  of  Julius. 
The  Forum  in  the  time  of  Constantine 
The  Trajan  Monument  in  the  Forum 
The  same       ..... 
South-east  view  of  the  Forum 
West  view  of  the  Forum 
Triumph  of  Aurelius,  from  bas-relief 
Temple  of  Julius  and  Arch  of  Augustus 
The  Prison  and  Temple  of  Concord,  from  the  Maenian  Column 


PAGE 

1 

ib. 

26 

40 

181 

244 


PREFACE. 


21 

62 

63 

68 

69 

140 

141 

180 


Vielleicht  kcimmt  einst  eine  gluckliche  Zeit,  welche  den  tief  unter  Schutt 
und  Enle  Hegenden  alten  Boden  offen  gelegt  sieht,  und  daraus  mit  Leicht- 
i<rkeit  und  Sicherlieit  Resultate  ziehen  kann,  die  sich  jetzt  nur  miihsam 
und  vermuthungsweise  aus  den  Nachrichten  der  Schriftsteller  gewinnen 
lassen.     Becker,  Handbuch  der  Romischen  Alterlhumer.     Theil.  i.  p.  216. 

The  surpassing  interest  of  the  topography  of  Ancient 
Rome  is  derived  from  its  connection  with  the  history 
of  the  dominant  nation  of  the  world.  It  follows  as  a 
consequence  that  this  interest  has  its  principal  seat 
in  the  place  which  was  the  centre  of  the  public  life 
of  the  Roman  people.  A  host  of  stirring  associations, 
such  as  belong  in  our  own  history  to  many  different 
localities,  gathered  around  the  Roman  Forum.  There 
the  Senate  sate  in  its  Curia,  the  people  met  in  their 
Comitia.  There  laws  were  passed  which  reformed  the 
constitution  of  the  sovereign  state,  decrees  were  made 
which  determined  the  fate  of  subject  populations. 
The  judicial  business  of  an  empire  was  there  trans- 
acted; statesmen  were  attainted,  and  civil  causes  in- 
volving the  fortune  of  a  Crassus  were  determined; 
while  at  another  tribunal  the  police  of  a  gi^eat  city 
was  conducted  and  ordinary  criminals  sentenced  and 
punished.  The  state  prison  and  the  place  of  public 
execution  were  close  at  hand.  The  same  area  which 
was  the  Westminster  Hall,  the  Old  Bailey,  and  the 

b 


I 


I 

i 


p 


11 


PREFACE. 


PREFACE. 


Ill 


t 


Tower  Hill,  was  also  the  Lombard  Street  and  tlie 
Exchange  of  Rome.  The  most  important  financial 
transactions  of  the  world  were  there  arranged;  loans 
were  contracted  by  'which  armies  were  to  be  raised, 
provinces  to  be  bought,  kingdoms  to  be  conquered,  or 
the  liberty  of  the  Republic  itself  to  be  overthrown. 
The  great  religious  festivals  of  Rome  were  celebrated 
in  the  same  area,  which  was  overlooked  by  the 
principal  temples  of  the  national  deities;  and  the 
popular  spectacles,  which  in  imperial  times  filled  the 
great  amphitheatre,  had  their  earlier  home  in  the 
Roman  Forum. 

It   is   the   province   of  topography  to   enable    the 
student  to  conceive  more  vividly  and  accurately  the 
events  of  history  and  the  life  of  a  bygone  age,byasso^ 
ciating  them  with  their  actual  localih^es,  and  with  such 
remains   of  ancient   monuments  as   Time  may  have 
spaied.     The  identification  of  historical  sites   is   the 
first  business  of  the  topographer;  but  this  mere  identi- 
fication presents  a  task  of  no  slight  difiiculty  where 
the  remains  of  antiquity  are  few  and  indistinct,  and 
the   whole   configuration    of   the    ground    lias    been 
altered  in  the  course   of  ages.     Ancient    Rome   lies 
buried  at  various   depths    below   the   surface   of  the 
modern  city,  and  the  archaeologists  of  the  last  three 
centuries    have   been    disputing    over    topographical 
problems  which  could  only  be  finally  solved  with  the 
aid  of  ruder  tools  than  those  with  which  they  laboured. 

Within  the  last  few  years  the  shovel  and  pickaxe 
have   been   busy,    and   a   large   part   of  the   ancient 


Forum  has  been  reduced  to  its  original  level  by  the 
removal  of  from  twenty  to  thirty  feet  of  accumulated 
rubbish.  The  effect  of  this  revelation  upon  our  topo- 
graphical knowledge  has  not  yet  been  estimated.  The 
fruits  are  still  to  be  gathered,  and  the  sight  of  such 
a  harvest  lying  open  to  the  first  comer  has  tempted 
the  present  writer  into  the  field. 

In  the  time  of  the  great  Italian  topographers  whose 
*  w^orks  form  the  foundation  of  our  literature  on  this 
sul)ject,  and  even  in  the  time  of  Nibby  and  Canina,  of 
Bunsen  and  of  Becker,  the  disposition  of  the  historical 
localities  of  the  Forum  was  a  matter  of  speculation 
and  conjecture,  founded  upon  the  interpretation  and 
comparison  of  ancient  texts.  Recent  excavations  have 
changed  the  nature  of  the  i)robleiii.  Instead  of  the 
inquiry, — where  may  we  expect  to  find  such  a  monu- 
ment?— the  question  1)ecomes  more  frequent, — what  is 
the  monument  the  ruins  of  w^hich  have  been  found? 
It  is  obvious  that  the  latter  question  is  open  to  a  far 
more  certain  and  definite  solution  than  the  former. 
Approaching  the  subject  from  this  side,  I  propose  in 
the  first  place  to  describe  and  identify  the  ruins  which 
exist  in  the  area  of  the  Forum  which  has  been  cleared: 
this  will  occupy  the  first  three  chapters.  The  three 
follow^ing  chapters  are  devoted  to  the  discussion  of 
subjects  connected  with  the  history  of  the  Forum,  but 
only  indirectly  illustrated  by  the  late  excavations, 
such  as  the  site  of  the  Comitium  and  Curia,  the 
history  of  the  Rostra,  and  the  topography  of  that  side 
of  the  Forum  which  has  not  yet  been  disinterred.     In 


IV 


PREFACE. 


the  three  remaining  chapters  the  attention  of  the 
reader  is  withdrawn  from  the  Roman  Forum  itself 
to  the  imperial  Fora,  the  Sacra  Via,  the  Velia,  the 
Nova  Via,  and  the  gates  of  Palatine  or  primeval 
Rome.  The  additional  data  which  have  been  fur- 
nished by  recent  discoveries  may  excuse  a  fresh 
attempt  to  deal  with  some  of  the  topographical  pro- 
blems which  these  names  suggest,  and  as  to  all  of 
them  there  remains,  in  the  present  state  of  our  know- 
ledge, something  to  be  said. 

Upon  none  of  the  questions  discussed  in  the  present 
volume  can  a  useful  opinion  be  formed  without  an 
accurate  acquaintance  with  the  language  of  the  ancient 
writers.  The  vast  apparatus  of  learning  that  has 
been  accumulated  by  the  great  scholars  who  have 
written  on  the  subject  of  Roman  topography,  from 
Donati  to  Becker,  furnishes  the  instruments  by  which, 
with  the  additional  information  supplied  by  modern 
exploration,  their  own  conclusions  may  be  supple- 
mented and  corrected.  In  the  present  work  the  prin- 
cipal passages  of  ancient  authors  bearing  upon  the 
topography  of  the  Forum  are  cited  in  full,  either  in 
the  text  or  at  the  foot  of  the  page,  in  order  that  the 
reader  may  have  before  him  in  a  trustworthy  shape 
the  literary  material  upon  which  his  judgment  is  to  be 
exercised.  Some  knowledge  of  the  existing  condition 
of  the  localities  may  be  supplied  to  those  who  have  not 
the  actual  sites  within  reach  by  plans  and  drawings, 
and  still  more  completely  in  modern  times  by  the  aid 
of  photography.     This  art  places  the  distant  student 


'1 


PREFACE.  T 

almost  upon  the  same  level  with  the  resident  upon  the 
spot.  A  very  extensive  and  interesting  series  of  pho- 
tographs of  the  ancient  monuments,  sculptures,  and 
excavations  of  Rome  has  been  executed  under  the 
superintendence  of  Mr.  J.  H.  Parker,  who  has  thereby 
placed  every  student  under  a  deep  obligation. 

No  good  map  has  been  published  of  the  exca- 
vations of  the  Forum,  although  the  Cavaliere  Rosa, 
the  intelligent  director  of  the  excavations,  has  pre- 
pared a  very  accurate  and  detailed  drawing,  which  it 
is  understood  he  intends  sometime  to  make  public. 
The  writer  was  consequently  compelled  for  his  own 
study  to  make  a  map  from  careful  observation  upon 
the  ground,  which  he  has  reduced  to  a  small  scale 
for  the  present  work,  and  has  added  a  sketch  of  the 
neighbouring  modern  streets.  This  will  be  found 
at  the  commencement  of  the  volume.  In  the  plan 
accompanying  it  an  attempt  is  made  to  represent  the 
arrangement  of  the  same  quarter  of  the  city  at  the 
closing  period  of  pagan  Rome.  This  and  the  other 
plans,  one  of  which  represents  the  same  quarter  in  the 
time  of  Augustus,  and  the  other  includes  a  somewhat 
larger  area,  in  order  to  illustrate  the  concluding 
chapters  of  the  work,  are  founded  partly  on  the 
existing  ruins  and  partly  on  inference  from  ancient 
authors.  This  distinction  is  indicated  by  tlie  shading 
of  the  buildings  and  by  the  form  of  tbe  letters  used  in 
the  names.  In  placing  some  important  monuments  the 
author  has  been  unable  to  coincide  with  the  opinions 
generally  received  among  recent  archaeologists.     For 


VI 


PREFACE. 


such  deviations  he  trusts  lie  has  given  sufficient  reasons 
in  his  text/  The  remains  of  the  antique  marble  plan 
of  Rome  preserved  in  the  Capitoline  Museum  form  an 
important  part  of  our  topographical  evidences.  A  copy 
of  the  few  fragments  that  appear  to  relate  to  the 
Forum  is  given  at  p.  26.  For  convenience  of  com- 
parison they  have  been  reduced  to  the  same  scale  as 
the  other  plans,  and  arranged  in  their  probable  relative 
position. 

Another  kind  of  illustration  has  been  used  in  the 
present  volume,  which  is  submitted  to  the  indulgence 
of  the  reader.  It  was  an  observation  which  early 
struck  the  attention  of  the  author,  that  an  adequate 
use  had  not  been  made  of  some  of  the  ancient  sculp- 
tures which  illustrate  the  topography  of  the  Forum. 
The  representation  of  its  north-western  extremity  con- 
tained in  the  bas-relief  upon  the  Arch  of  Constantino 
has  been  well  appreciated  by  Canina.  The  full  topo- 
graphical significance  of  the  Trajan  monument,  re- 
cently excavated  in  the  Forum  itself,  was  first  pointed 
out  by  the  author  in  a  paper  read  l)efore  the  Society 
of  Antiquaries  of  London  in  January  1875.  The 
recognition  of  the  south-eastern  end  of  the  Forum 
as  there  exhibited  naturallv  led  to  that  of  some  of  the 


a  See  as  to  tbe  site  of  the  Comitium,  and  the  objects  connected  with  it, 
Chapter  IV\;  the  Forum  Julium,  pp.  247-250;  the  Velia,  pp.  302-304;  the 
Temple  of  Jupiter  Stator  and  Torta  iMuirlonia,  pp.  311-321;  the  Porta 
Ronumula,  pp.  325-327. 

I  take  this  oi)portunity  of  requesting  tlie  lieader  to  add  at  p.  19  a  refer- 
ence to  p.  184,  where  the  terrace  with  the  curved  fiice,  commonly  called 
the  Rostra,  is  identified  with  the  Graecostadium. 


PREFACE. 


Vll 


same  monuments  as  represented  in  the  bas-relief  of 
the  triumph  of  M.  Aurelius,  now  in  the  Ca])itoline 
Museum.  It  appeared  to  the  author  that  the  back- 
grounds of  these  sculptures  are  best  explained  bv 
translating  into  perspective  their  somewhat  conven- 
tional representations  of  temples,  basilicas,  and  arches. 
In  the  Frontispiece  the  writer  has  been  tempted  to 
step  beyond  his  authorities,  in  order  to  exhibit  a 
general  view  of  the  Forum.  He  trusts  that  it  is  need- 
less to  say  how  thoroughly  he  is  aware  of  the  imper- 
fection of  these  attempts.  AVere  they  much  better 
than  they  are,  it  is  always  true  that  the  best  in 
this  kind  are  but  shadows,  unless  imagination  mend 
them.  Their  object  is  to  assist  the  reader  to  recon- 
struct in  imagination  the  outward  appearance  of  the 
Forum,  as  that  of  the  entire  book  is  to  furnish  some 
trustworthy  materials  towards  an  adequate  conception 
of  its  ancient  monuments  and  of  their  history,  and  of 
the  wonderfully  intense  and  varied  life  which  once 
animated  this  small  portion  of  the  earth*s  surface. 


IJ 


/ 


,( 


THE   ROMAN   FORUJi^ 


CHAPTER  I. 


■^ 


(^C^i    ("(  \ 


X 


N 


A     \, 


?oruin. 


THE  NORTH-WESTERN  DIVISION  OF  THE  FORUM,  MRQ^ 
THE  TABULARIUM  TO  THE  TEMPLE  OF  SATURN  AND 
ARCH  OF  SEVERUS.  

The  Koman  Forum  was  once,  according  to  an-  chap.  i. 
cient  traditions  confirmed  by  the  physical  cha-  Tra"didonai 
racter  of  the  locality,  a  marshy  valley  subject  to  \ITy^^ ""^ 
frequent  inundation  by  the  Tiber,  and  even  in  the 
dry  season  partly  covered  with  water. 

Hoc,  ubi  nunc  fora  sunt,  udae  tenuere  paludes.^ 

Virgil  presents  a  somewhat  happier  picture  of 
the  place,  as  viewed  by  Aeneas  and  Evander  from 
the  ascent  of  the  Palatine  hill. 

Talibus  inter  se  dictis  ad  tecta  subibant 
Pauperis  Evandri,  passimque  armenta  videbant 
Romanoque  foro  et  lautis  mugirc  Carinis.2 

This  space  of  ground,  if  we  believe  the  legend- 
ary history,  was  the  scene  of  a  long-contested 
battle  between  the  rival  nations  of  Romans 
and  Sabines,  when  the  Romans  were  seated  on 
the  Palatine  hill,  and  the  Sabines  had  possession 
of  the  Capitol.  Upon  the  termination  of  the 
struggle  by  the  interference  of  the  Sal)ine  women, 


'  Ovid.  Fast.  vi.  401 


^  Virg.  Aen.  viii.  359. 


B 


1 


Position 
and  extent 
of  the 
Forum. 


2  THE  ROMAN  FORUM. 

CHAP.  I.  the  enforced  wives  of  tlie  Romans,  the  kings 
Romuhis  and  Tatius  converted  the  battle-iiekl 
into  a  market-place  for  their  united  peoples.  ^ 

The  centre  in  historical  times  of  the  religious, 
political,  and  social  life  of  the  nation,  the  Forum 
l)ecame  surrounded  and  filled  with  the  most  im- 
portant temples  and  public  buildings  of  the  city, 
and  in  its  area  was  transacted  the  internal  history 
of  Rome. 

The  ancient  Forum  lay  until  a  recent  period 
buried  some  twenty  feet  below  the  modern  sur- 
face, and,  with  the  exception  of  a  few  columns 
which  still  reared  a  part  of  their  height  above  the 
Campo  Vaccino,  the  situation  of  its  monuments 
was  unknown.  Relying  upon  the  evidence  of 
ancient  writers  as  to  its  position  between  the 
Capitoline  and  Palatine  hills,"*  it  was  the  prevail- 
ing opinion  of  antiquaries,  from  Nardini  in  the 
seventeenth  to  Nibby  in  the  nineteenth  cen- 
tury, that  its  principal  area  extended  southward 

'  Mettius  Curtius  ab  Sabinis  prlnceps  ab  arce  decucurrerat,  et 
effusos  egerat  Romanes  toto  quantum  foro  spatium  est.  Nee 
procul  iam  a  porta  Palatii  erat.     Liv.  i.  12. 

To  dk  vTTOKtifitvov  Tt^  KaTTiTioXitf)  TTsSiov,  tKKo-ipavrti;  Tit)v  iv  avrt^ 
•nt<pvKviav  v\riv^  Kai  Ti}(;  Xi/xvrjg^  i)  h)  ^la  to  koIXov  dvai  to  \u)piov 
lirXiiOvve  Tolg  KaTiovtriv  tK  tCjv  oqCjv  vufiaai^  ra  noXXa  x<«><Tarrf^,  ayopdp 
avToBi  KaTt(TTt)(TavTo^  y  Kai  vvv  ?Ti  xpw/itvot  'Ptu/iaTor  ^taTiXovaiv. 
Dionys.  ii.  50. 

*  No/irtf  H  Tt)v  apxrjv  TrapaXa(3cjv  tu£  fiiv  Idiat;  ovk  iKivrjrre  tiov 
(ppaTpiCjv  tariaCt  Koivtjv  ^t  KaTi(rTi]aaTo  TzavTutv  fiiav^  Iv  ti^  fiira^v  tov 
Ti  KaTTtrwXtoy  Kai  rov  UaXuTiov  \ij>p'n^^  (JvfnnTroXia^iviov  ySr]  tHjv  Xo^wi/ 
ivi  7rfpt/36Xy  Kai  fistrr^g  ctfxcpolv  ovatjg  Tijg  ayopac^  tv  y  KaTt(TKfi'ia(TTai  to 
\ep6v.    Dionys.  ii.  66.    See  also  Liv.  i.  12  (Note  3);  Plutarch.  Rom.  18. 


) 


I 


THE  TABULARIUM. 

from   the   columns   whicli  adorned   the   base  of 
the    Capitol.      This    opinion    was   corrected    by 
modern  criticism  ;    and    recent   explorations,    in 
whicli  tlie  greater  part  of  the  Forum  has  l)een 
laid  bare  to  its  ancient  level,  have  shewn  beyond 
dispute  that    its  longer  measurement  was   from 
the  north-west,  on  which  side  it  was  closed   in 
by  the  Capitol,  to  the  south-east,  where   it  ex- 
tended to  the  northern   corner  of  the  Palatine. 
Its  lengtli  from  the  Tabularium  to  the  Regia  was 
about   230  yards.     The  width  of  its  open  area 
varied  from  80  to  40  yards. 

The   Capitoline    hill    was    composed    of   two 
heights    united   by   a    lower   ridge.      Upon   the 
south-eastern  slope  of  this  ridge  was  constructed 
a  large  edifice,  a  great  part  of  which  has  survived 
to  the  present  day,  and  is  incorporated   in    the 
Senatorial  Palace,  of  which  the  principal  fa9ade 
is  in  the  Piazza  del  Campidoglio.     On  the  oppo- 
site  face  the  ancient  external  wall  remains,  and 
forms  the  north-western  ])oundary  of  the  Forum. 
In  the  upper  part  of  this  side  of  the  building  was 
a  long  loggia  or  arcade,  one  arch  only  of  whicli  is 
now  open,  with  Doric  half-columns  at  the  sides ; 
the  capitals  of  several  of  the  other  half-columns 
are  traceable  at  intervals  in  the  wall. 

By  an  inscription  which  existed  on  its  walls 
until  the  seventeenth  century,  this  building  is 
identified  as  the  Tabularium  or  Public  Record 
Ofiice,  the  destruction  of  wliich  by  an  incendiary 

B  2 


3 


CHAP.  I. 


The  Tahn- 
larium. 


Gallory  of 
the  Tahn- 
hirium. 


i 


Clivus 
Capitol  i 
nos. 


I! 


4  THE  ROMAN  FORUM 

CHAP.  I.  is  twice  alluded  to  by  Cicero.  It  was  rebuilt  by 
~  Q.  Lutatius  Catulus,  consul,  B.C.  78.^  There  were 
other  tabularia  at  Rome  ;  one  in  the  Atrium 
Libertatis  is  mentioned  by  Livy.'  But  this  great 
office  in  the  most  prominent  situation  of  the 
city  may  well  be  taken  for  the  public  Tal)ula- 
rium  alluded  to  by  Virgil,  which  his  fortunate 
worshipper  of  the  rural  deities  was  privileged  not 
to  know. 

Nee  ferrea  iiira 
Insanumque  forum  ant  populi  tabularia  vidit  7 

On  the  right  of  the  Tabularium,  as  you  look 
from  it  towards  the  Forum,  was  the  principal 
road  leading  from  the  Capitol,  called  the  Clivus 
Capitolinus,  which  descended  in  zigzag  to  the 
Forum.  A  small  piece  of  the  lava  pavement  of 
this  ancient  road  is  visible  by  the  south-w^est  wall 
of  the  Palazzo  del  Senatore  ;  and  the  lower  part  is 
completely  uncovered.  On  the  left  of  the  Tabu- 
larium was  a  steeper  path  leading  down  from 
the  Capitol,  called  the  Scalae  Gemoniae,  which 

*  Cic.  pro  Rabirio  perd.  reo,  3 ;  do  nat.  D.  iii.  30. 

Q.     LVTATIVS    Q.F.     Q.N.     CATVLVS    .    COS    .    SVBSTRVCTIONEM  .    ET  . 
TABVLARIVM  .  EX  .  S.C.  FACIENDVM  .  COERAVIT.       (RomaC  in  Capitollo, 

ex  Panvinio  et  Boissardo.)     Gruter,  Ins.   170,  6;    Nardini,  Rom. 

Ant.  ii.  300. 

The  name  of  Catulus  was  also  inscribed  on  the  great  temple  of  the 
Capitol  after  its  reconstruction  by  Sulla.  Tac.  Hist.  iii.  72;  Dio 
Cass,  xliii.  14. 

6  Censores  extemplo  in  atrium  Libertatis  escenderunt:  et  ibi  si^'- 
natis  tabellis  publicis  clausoque  tabulario  .  .  .  ncgarunt  se  .  .  .  quic- 
quam  publici  negotii  gestures.     Liv.  xliii.  16. 

'  Virg.  Georg.  ii.  501. 


Scalae 
Gemoniae. 


SCALAE  GEMONIAE.  0 

reached  the  Forum  close  to  the  ancient  Prison  of  chap,  i 
Rome ;  upon  the  steps  at  the  bottom,  the  bodies 
of  persons  executed  in  the  prison  were  frequently 
thrown.  No  traces  of  this  path  are  now  visible, 
but  its  direction  and  extent  are  indicated  by  a 
passage  of  Dio  Cassius,  in  which  that  historian, 
speaking  of  the  events  which  foreshadowed  the  fall 
of  Sejanus,  describes  his  return  to  the  Forum  from 
a  sacrifice  in  the  Capitol,  when  some  of  his  attend- 
ants, prevented  by  the  crowd  from  keeping  up 
with  their  master,  turned  aside  into  the  path  which 
led  to  the  prison,  and  slipped  and  fell  upon  the  steps 
where  the  condemned  were  used  to  be  thrown.^ 

The  Prison,  Career^  is  mentioned  by  Livy  as  The 
having  been  built  by  King  Ancus,  in  the  midst  of 
the  city,  overhanging  the  Forum.^  It  contained 
an  undergound  cell,  which  was  called  Tullianum,  tuIH 
having  been,  according  to  Varro,  an  addition  of 
Servius  TuUius.^'^  This  part  of  the  prison  was 
used  as  a  place  of  execution,  and  is  depicted  by 
Sallust  with  some  minuteness  in  recording  the  fate 
of  the  Catilinarian  consj)irators.    He  describes  it 

®  'Entidt'i  re  Kai  tv  Ttp  KuTriToiXiqt  Qvaaq  iq  ri)v  dyo<pdv  Kar^eiy  o't 
oiKtTai  avTov  oi  dopvtpopoty  Sid  r«  Ttjg  udou  r»)t;  tg  to  Ct(jfiioTr}piov  dyovar}Q 
i^tTpdirovTO^  lifj  Svvi}9ipTig  ai)T<p  viro  rov  ox^ov  tTraKoXovOiirrui,  koi  Kara 
Tutv  dvajSafffiutv  kuO  wv  ol  SiKniovfievoi  ippnrrovvTo  Kartovrtg  oiXiaOov 
Kai  Kark-jnaov.     Dio  Cass.  Iviii.  5. 

^  Career  ad  terrorcm  inerescentis  audaciae  media  urbc  imminens 
foro  aedificatur.     Liv.  i.  33. 

'<>  Career  a  coercendo,  quod  ex  ire  prohibentur.  In  hoc  pars  quae 
sub  terra  Tullianum,  ideo  ({uod  additum  a  Tullio  rcge.  Varro,  L.  L. 
V.  32.     So  Festus  (ed.  Mull.),  p.  3jC. 


Prison. 


Iiuuum. 


Site  of  the 
Trison. 


Prison  of 
St.  I'eter. 


b  THE  ROMAN  FORUM. 

CPiAP.  I.  as  approached  by  a  slight  ascent  to  the  left, 
the  cell  being  twelve  feet  below  the  ground, 
with  walls  all  round,  and  a  vault  above  con- 
structed with  stone  arches,  its  aspect  dark,  filthy, 
and  friii:htfulJ^ 

It  has  been  usual  to  place  the  ancient  prison  of 
Rome  on  the  site  of  the  church  of  S.  Giusep])e 
dei  Falegnami,  where  there  is  an  underground 
cell  called  tlie  Prison  of  St.  Peter. 

This  structure  forms  a  sort  of  crypt  to  the 
church,  being  composed  of  two  chambers  one  above 
the  other,  the  upper  chamber  being  about  twenty 
feet  square  and  thirteen  feet  high,  and  the  lower, 
w^hich  is  round,  about  eighteen  feet  in  diameter 
and  scarcely  more  than  six  feet  in  height.  A 
flat  vault  of  travertine  divides  the  two  chambers  ; 
and  the  ancient  conical  vaulting  of  the  upper 
chamber  has  been  partly  replaced  by  a  flat  stone 
roof  Both  are  now  reached  by  a  stone  staircase. 
In  the  lower  chamber  is  a  shallow  well,  the 
water  of  which  rises  nearly  to  the  surface  of  the 
natural  floor  of  the  cell.  On  the  face  of  the 
buikling,  towards  the  Forum,  is  the  following  in- 


i( 


II 


Ipse  (Cicero)  praesidiis  dispositis  Lentulum  in  carcerem  deducit : 
idem  fit  caeteris  per  praetores.  Est  in  carcere  locus,  quod  Tullianum 
appellatur,  ubi  paululum  ascenderis  ad  laevara,  circiter  xii.  pedes 
humi  depressus.  Eum  muniunt  undique  parietes,  atque  insuper 
camera  lapideis  fornicibus  vincta  :  sed  incultu,  tenebrls,  odore,  foeda 
atque  terribilis  eius  facies.  In  eum  locum  postquam  demissus  Len- 
tulus,  vindices  rerum  capitalium,  quibus  praeceptum  erat,  laqueo 
gulam  fregere  .  .  .  De  Cethego,  Statilio,  Gabinio,  Cepario,  eodem 
modo  supplicium  sumptum  est.     Sallust  Bell.  Catilin.  55. 


i 


THE  PRISON.  7 

scription,  which  records  some  restoration  in  the   chap,  i 
consulship  of  Vibius  and  Nerva,  during  the  reign 
of  Tiberius,  a.d.  22. 

C  .  VIBIVS  .  C  .  F  .  KVFINVS  .  M  .  COCCKIVS  .  .  .  NERVA  . 

EX  .  S  .  C. 

The  lower  subterranean  cham])er  communicates 
by  narrow  passages  with  otlier  hirger  cliambers  of 
solid  masonry,  situated  under  some  houses  in  the 
Vicolo  del  Ghettarello,  and  also  with  the  Cloaca 
Maxima. 

The  so-called  Prison  of  St.  Peter  is  supposed 
by  some  anticjuaries  to  have  been  originally  a 
well-house,  or  a  subterranean  cistern  for  collecting 
water.  The  word  tullius  in  early  language  sig- 
nified a  well,  and  a  derivation  is  thus  suggested 
for  the  name  Tullianum,  by  wliicli  the  connection 
with  king  Tullius,  and  the  impro])able  supposition 
that  the  under  portion  of  the  building  is  later  than 
the  upper,  are  superseded. 

The  identification  of  the  Career  with  the  struc-  identity  of 
ture  existing  at  S.  Giuseppe  is  not  undisputed.'"  of  st.mer 
The  inscri])tion  contains  nothing  to  show  the  pur-  Careen 
pose  of  the  building,  and  the  description  of  Sallust 
miglit  apply  equally  well  to  many  an  underground 
vault,  and  does  not  perhaps  fit  the  existing  cell  with 
])erfect   accuracy,    the    original    vaulting   having 
apparently    been    constructed    with   overlaj)ping 

"  See  Burn,  Rome  and  tie  Campagna,  p.  81;  Appendix,  p  455. 


8 


CHAP.  I. 


Associa- 
tions of  the 
Prison. 


THE  ROMAN  FORUM. 

stones,  and  not,  as  might  have  been  expected  from 
the  expression  of  the  historian,  with  an  arch. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  mere  situation  of  the 
structure  in  question  makes  it  difficult  to  reject 
its  received  identity.  The  prison  was  in  a  posi- 
tion overlooking  the  Forum, ^^  near  the  Temple  of 
Concord,"*  and  at  the  bottom  of  a  steep  path 
leading  from  the  Capitol.^  If  this  was  not  its  site, 
where  is  it  possible  to  place  it  ?  The  severe  style 
of  architecture  of  the  remaining  portion  of  the 
ancient  fagade  agrees  with  the  assumed  destination 
of  the  building.  The  existence  of  passages  con- 
necting this  structure  with  other  strongly- built 
cells  and  also  with  the  cloaca,  by  means  of  which 
the  bodies  of  criminals  might  be  secretly  disposed 
of,  tends  to  confirm  the  identification.  On  the 
whole,  it  can  scarcely  be  doubted  that  we  have  here 
some  remains  of  the  Career  :  and  it  seems  not 
improbable  that  the  existing  prison  of  St.  Peter 
was  actually  the  Tullianum  of  Varro  and  Sallust, 
originally,  perhaps,  entered  only  by  a  hole  in  the 
top  of  the  vaulting,  to  which  the  slight  ascent  to 
the  left  mentioned  by  Sallust  may  have  led. 

The  Career  plays  a  part  in  Roman  history  like 
that  of  the  Tower  of  London  in  our  own.  The 
Tullianum  was  a  secret  Tower  Hill.  We  read  in 
Livy,  that  Pleminius,  the  legate  of  Scipio  Afri- 
canus,  who  was  connnitted  to  the  Career  on  account 

•'  Liv.  i.  33  (Note  9).  '  Dio  Cass.  Iviii.  11.  (Note  20.) 

^  Dio  Cass.  Iviii.  5.  (Note  8.) 


THE  PRISON. 


9 


'  f 


V 


of  his  excesses  at  Locri,  was  detected  in  hiring  chap.  i. 
men  to  set  fire  to  the  city,  and  was  thereupon 
sent  down  into  the  lower  prison  and  executed.^^ 
Cicero,  in  his  Second  Oration  against  Catiline, 
speaks  threateningly  of  the  Career  as  having  been 
ordained  by  their  ancestors  as  the  avenger  of 
heinous  and  notorious  crimes.^  And  Plutarch 
describes  how  the  orator  carried  out  his  threats 
of  taking  Lentulus  from  the  Palatine  along  the 
Sacred  Way  and  through  the  midst  of  the  Forum 
to  the  prison,  where,  according  to  Sallust,  he  was 
j)ut  down  into  the  Tullianum  and  strangled  by 
the  executioners.  The  same  fate  befel  Cethegus 
and  several  other  conspirators.^  It  was  into 
this  hole  that  the  wild  Jugurtha  was  thrust,  when, 
according  to  Plutarch,  he  exclaimed,  ''  How  cold 
is  this  bath  of  vours;"  and  in  it  he  was  starved 
to  death.^  When  Sejanus,  the  minister  of  Tibe- 
rius, was  disgraced  and  imprisoned,  the  Senate 
met  in  the  Temple  of  Concord  on  account  of  its 
proximity  to  the  prison,  and  immediately  decreed 
his   death.     His   body  was    cast   on   the    Scalae 

'*  Liv.  xxix.  22  ;  xxxiv.  44. 

'  Carcerem  quern  vindicera  nefiiriorum  ac  manifestorum  scelerum 
inalores  nostri  esse  voluerunt.     Cic.  in  Cat.  ii.  12. 

^  Kai  irpwruv  Ik  UaXariov  TrapaXajicji'  tuv  AtvrXov  t)yt  Sid  ri/f  itpdg 
oSov  xai  riiQ  ayopiic  /ittrj/g  .  .  .  AitXOwv  di  Tt)v  dyopdv  Kai  yivoutvoq 
irpoQ  T(fi  dt(j^b}Ti]p'uii  TraptcwKt  top  AivTXop  rtp  Irjii'uj)  Kai  Trpoaira^tv 
di'tXtlv'  tl9^  i^qg  TuvK^Ojjyov  Kai  ovTto  twv  dXXuiv  fKaoTov  Karayayojv 
dirUTuvtv.     Plutarch.  Cic.  22.    Sallusst.  Bell.  Cat.  55.     (Note  11.) 

'■*  'HaOtig  St  yvfivoQ  tig  to  (idpaOpov  Kart(iXi)Oii.  .  .  'HpuicXttg,  ilntVj 
wj;  il^vxpov  I'nutv  TO  (3aXapilov.     Plutarch.  Mar.  12. 


10 


THE  ROMAN  FORUM. 


il 


SCALAE  GEMONIAE. 


11 


CHAP.  I. 


Gemoniae,  where  it  remained  for  three  davs  ex- 
posed  to  the  insults  of  the  ])opuhice,*^  who,  accord- 
ing to  Juvenal,  if  Tiberius  had  been  overthrown, 
would  have  been  equally  ready  to  salute  him 
emperor. 

Seianus  ducitur  unco 
Spectandus.     Gaiident  omnes. 

Idem  populus,  si  Nursia  Tusco 
Favisset,  si  oppressa  foret  seciira  senectus 
Princii)is,  liac  ipsa  Seianum  diceret  hora 
Augustiim.i 

The  subsequent  execution  of  his  children  was 
carried  out  in  the  jn-ison  with  circumstances  of 
frightful  atrocity,  and  their  bodies  thrown  on  the 
Scalae  Gemoniae.^  Sad,  however,  as  were  the 
associations  connected  with  this  l)uilding,  the 
Roman  Satirist,  among  the  multiplied  instruments 
of  tyranny  of  his  own  day,  could  look  back  w4tli 
fond  regret  to  its  early  history. 

Felices  proavoriim  atavos,  felicia  dicas 

Secula,  quae  quondam  sub  regibus  atque  tribunis 

Viderunt  uno  contentam  carcere  Roinam.^ 


20 


T(5r£  \iiv  yiip  tQ  to  dttrfiwri'iptov  tvtf3\r}9t)'  varepov  S'  oh  ttoXX.^, 
aW  av9t]fifpdv  y  yipovaia  nXrjaiov  tov  oiKt'ifiaTog  tv  rtji  'O/iovofiV  •  •  • 
edvarov  avrov  KaTtxprjcpiaaro-  Kni  ovtuj  CiKuiio9ei£  Kara  re  Tiov  dva- 
fHafffiiov  ippiipr],  Kai  avTov  6  o^iXog  rpiaiv  oXaig  y)^ipaig  iXvfit'ivaTo,  Kui 
fiiTo.  TovTo  ig  TOV  TTOTOfibv  tvff3aXt.     Dio  Cass.  Iviii.  11. 

'  Juvenal.  Sat.  x.  66. 

^  Placitum  posthac  ut  in  reliquos  Seiani  liberos  adverteretur  .  .  . 
Tgitur  portantur  in  carcerem  .  .  .  Tradunt  temporis  eius  auctores, 
quia  triumvirali  supplicio  adfici  virginem  inauditum  habebatur,  a 
carnifice  laqueum  iuxta  conipressam  ;  exin  oblisis  faucibus,  id  aetatis 
corpora  in  Gemonias  abiecta.    Tac.  Ann.  v.  9.    So  Dio  Cass.  Iviii.  1 1 . 

^  Juvenal.  Sat.  iii.  313. 


^ 
^ 


The  Career,  like  the  Tower,  had  also  its  literary 
reminiscences.  Naevius  is  said  to  have  written 
two  of  his  plays  while  he  was  confined  in  the 
Prison  for  his  attacks  on  the  aristocracv.^ 

(Jn  the  Gemonian  steps  the  headless  trunk  of 
Flavins  Sabinus,  the  brother  of  Vespasian,  was 
thrown  by  the  soldiers  of  Vitellius,  and  not 
many  days  after  Vitellius  himself  met  his  end  on 
the  same  spot.  Pliny  calls  the  place  gmdus 
gemitorii,  the  Steps  of  Sighs.^ 

Near  the  prison,  on  the  other  side  of  the 
Gemonian  steps,  was  the  Temj)le  of  Concord, 
the  extensive  podium  of  which,  with  remains  of 
its  marble  pavement,  has  recently  been  exposed, 
with  tlie  exception  of  a  small  part  which  is  under 
the  modern  pathway  leading  up  to  the  Piazza  del 
Campidoglio.  The  building  of  which  we  see  the 
remains  appears  to  have  consisted  of  a  large  cell 
placed  against  the  wall  of  the  Tabularium,  with 
a  portico  of  less  width  projecting  towards  the 
Forum,  the  portico  being  approached  by  a  lofty 
flight  of  steps. 

The  identity  of  this  ruin  with  the  Temple  of 
Concord  is  undisjuited.  It  is  proved  hy  its  posi- 
tion ])etween  the  Capitol  and  the  Forum,^  near 
the  Temple   of  Saturn  and  the   Clivus    Capito- 

'*  A.  Cell,  iii  3. 

*  Tac.  Hist.  iii.  74,  85.     Sueton.  Vitell.  17.     Plin.  N.  II.  viii.  61. 
Aedis  Concordiau  inter  Capitolium  et  Forum.  Festus  (ed.  Miill  ) 
p.  347. 


CHAP.  I. 


Scalae 
Gemoniae. 


Temple  of 
Concord. 


12 


CHAP.  I. 


i    I 


Temple  of 
Camillus. 


THE  ROMAN  FOKUM. 

liniis,"  and  in  close  proximity  to  the  prison ;«  and 
finally  by  a  comparison  of  the  three  inscriptions 
preserved  in  the  Einsiedlen  Manuscript  with  the 
•letters  still  remaining  on  the  other  two  temples 
at  the  head  of  the  Forum,  which,  assumino;  the 
three  mscriptions  to  have  belonged  to  these  three 
temples,  leaves  that  which  has  the  name  of  Con- 
cord as  the  one  belonging  to  this.^     The  identity 
is  further  confirmed  by  the  fragment  of  the  Capi- 
toline  Plan,  in  which  the  letters  ordia  appear.'" 
The  existing  remains  appear  to  be  those  of  an 
extensive   building,    the   last   restoration  of  the 
Temple.     But,  when  Varro  wrote,  it  would  seem 
that  there  was  not  only  a  Temple  of  Concord,  but 
a  Basilica,  called   the   Basilica  Opimia,   on    this 
ground,  and  that  in  earlier  times  the  same  locality 
had   furnished  the  site  of  a  ])uilding  called  the 
Senaculum.i 

The  first  Temple  of  Concord  placed  on  part  of 
this  site  was  probably  that  of  M.  Furius  Camillus, 
erected  to  celebrate  the  reconciliation  of  the  Pa- 
trician and  Plebeian  orders  upon  the  concession 

"  Templum  Saturni  quod  est  ante  clivum  Capitolii,   iuxta  Con- 
cord.ae  te.nplum     Serv.  ad  Aen.  ii.  116.    Cic.  Phil.  ii.  7.   (Note  41.) 
Dio  Cass.  Ivin.  11.     (Note  20.)  9  See  p  24 

-  These  fragments  of  a  marble  plan  of  Rome  were  found  "at  the 

Damian  (See  Chapter  VII.)  They  are  now  on  the  walls  of  the  stair- 
case of  the  Cap.toline  Museum.  The  fragments  relating  to  this  part 
of  Rome  are  engraved  in  Canina's  Edifizj  di  Roma,  vol.  ii.  tav.  89. 

of  til""'  ;  ;  'ly'^'  ^^"  ^'"P^"-  ^^^  ^^'-^'^  ^^-  topography 
of  tins  corner  of  the  Forum  is  discussed  with  more  detail 


TEMPLE  OF  CONCORD. 


13 


of  one  of  the  consulships  to  the  latter,  B.C.  367.   chap.  i. 
Its    locality    is    described  by    Plutarch    as    com- 
manding a  view  of  the  Forum  and  Comitium.^^ 
But  the  temple  existino-  here  in  the  time  of  Varro  J,^™i\^^  ^^ 

^  c»  Opmims. 

and  Cicero  appears  to  have  been  that  erected  in 
the  Forum,  by  order  of  the  Senate,  by  L.  Opimius, 
consul,  B.C.  121,  after  the  triumph  of  the  aristo- 
cratical  party  over  C.  Gracchus.^  This  may 
account  for  its  association  with  the  Basilica 
Opimia,  which  appears  to  have  adjoined  it. 

The  restoration  of  the  Temple  of  Concord  was  Restora- 
undertaken    by    Tiberius   in   his   own    name  and  Tempieof 
that  of  his  brother  Drusus,  during  the  reign  of  ^^LTu?^ 
Augustus,  B.C.  6;  and  shortly  after,  on  his  journey 
to  his  retirement  at  Rhodes,  he  is  said  to  have 
compelled  the  people  of  Pares  to  sell  him  a  statue 
of  Vesta,  which  he  wished  to  present  to  the  new 
temple.^     It  does   not,  however,  appear  to  have 
been  dedicated  till  the  triumphal  return  of  Tibe- 
rius from  his  German  campaigns,  a.d.  12;  though 
Dio  places  the  dedication  in  the    previous  year. 
Livia  united  with  her  son  in  providing  the  altar 
and  accessories  of  the  new  temple.^ 

The   Temple   of  Concord   was    adorned    with 

3'  ' E\\/i)<pi<TavTo  tTiq  fitv  'Ofiovoiag  lepbv,  (oainp  tjv^aro  6  KdfitWog,  iig 
rt)v  ayopdv  Kai  etQ  rtjv  iKK\r\(jiav  uTroTrrov  tTrl  toXq  ytytVTjfitvoiQ  iSpv- 
aaaOai,    Plutarch.  Cam.  42. 

H  U  (3ov\t)  Kai    veujv  'Ofiovoiag  avrbv  iv  dyop^  Trpocrtf^'^ti/  iytTpai. 
Appian.  Bell.  Civ.  i.  26.     Plutarch.  C.  Gracch.  17. 

*  Dio  Cass.  Iv.  8,  9. 

•  Candida,  te  niveo  posuit  lux  proxima  templo 

Qua  fert  sublimes  aha  Moneta  gradus  ; 


14 


THE  ROMAN  FORUM. 


CHAP.  I. 


Identity  of 
temples  of 
Opimius 
and  Tibe- 
rius. 


many  valual^le  works  of  art.  It  possessed  among 
other  treasures  a  picture  by  Zeuxis  of  Marsyas 
Bound,  and  another  of  Liber  Pater  by  Nicias  of 
Athens,  an  artist  who  is  said  by  Pliny  to  have 
excelled  in  breadth  and  in  the  relief  with  which 
he  brought  out  his  subjects.  ^^ 

The  identity  of  the  temple  restored  by  Tiberius 
with  that  of  Camillus  is  testified  by  Ovid.  But 
there  is  no  direct  evidence  of  the  identity  of 
either  with  the  temple  erected  by  Opimius  in  the 
Forum  ;  and  a  learned  English  writer  has  argued 
from   the    description   of  the   site    by    Plutarch 


Nunc  bene  prospicies  Latiam,  Concordia,  turbam ; 

Nunc  te  sacratae  restltuere  inanus. 
Furius  antiquum  populi  superator  Etrusci 

Voverat,  et  voti  solverat  ante  fidem. 
Causa,  quod  a  patribus  sumptis  sece.sserat  arniis 

Vulgus,  et  ipsa  suas  Roma  timebat  opes. 
Causa  recens  melior  :  passos  Germania  crincs 

Porrigit  auspiciis,  dux  venerande,  tuis. 
Inde  triumphatae  libasti  munera  gentis, 

Templaque  fecisti,  quam  colis  ipse,  deae. 
Ilaec  tua  constituit  genitrix  et  rebus  et  ara, 
Sola  toro  magni  digna  reperta  lovis. 

Ovid.  Fast.  i.  637. 
A  Germania  in  urbem  post  biennium  regressus,  triumplmm,  quern 
distulerat.  egit  .  .  .  Dedicavit  et  Concordiae  aedem,  item  Pollucis  et 
Castoris,  suo  fratrisque  nomine  de  manubiis.    Sueton.  Tib.  20.    Dio 
Cass.  Iv.  25. 

''  Zeuxidismanu  Romae  Helena  est  in  Philippi  porticibus,  et  in 
Concordiae  delubro  Marsjas  religatus.     Plin.  N.  H.  xxxv.  36 

Lumen  et  umbras  custodivit  (Nicias),  atque  ut  eminerent  e  tabulis 
picturae  maxime  curavit.  Opera  ejus,  Nemea  advecta  ex  Asia 
Komam  a^.Iano,  quam  in  Curia  di.ximus  positam,  item  Liber  pater 
.naede  Concordiae.  Plin.  N.  H.  xxxv.  40  (28).  See  also  il>. 
XXXVI.  by  ;  xxxvii.  2. 


TEMPLE  OF  CONCORD. 


15 


#■■* 
V 


I 


already  cited,  and  from  the  language  of  Ovid,  <^hap.  i. 
that  the  true  position  of  the  temple  built  l)y 
Camillus  and  restored  by  Tiberius  was  in  the  Arx, 
close  to  the  temple  of  Juno  Moneta;"'  but  it  will 
be  found  that  the  expressions  of  these  authors 
are  not  inapplicable  to  the  well-known  site  in  the 
Forum.  Ovid's  description  places  it  by  the  steps 
of  Moneta,  in  a  position  whence  the  goddess  Con- 
cord had  a  ])erfect  view  of  the  Latin  crowd.  The 
latter  part  of  this  description  is  equivalent  to 
Plutarch's  expression  respecting  the  temple  of 
Camillus,  that  it  commanded  a  prospect  of  the 
Forum  ;  and  both  are  eminently  appropriate  to  the 
l)resent  site  at  the  foot  of  the  Capitol.  The  allu- 
sion to  the  steps  of  Moneta  requires  more  expla- 
nation. The  steep  way  which  led  from  the  prison, 
past  the  side  of  the  Temple  of  Concord,  to  the 
Arx,  where  the  Temple  of  Juno  Moneta  probably 
occupied  the  site  of  the  present  church  of  Araceli, 
was  called  (at  its  lower  part  at  least)  Scalae  Ge- 
moniae.  But  Ovid  may  well  have  preferred  to 
associate  this  path  with  the  hallowed  title  of 
Moneta  rather  than  to  introduce  into  his  verse 
any  nearer  allusion  to  the  ill-omened  name  by 
which  it  was  generallv  known.  Possiblv  in  the 
syllable  common  to  both  he  may  have  found  a 
connection  between  the  two  names.  In  judging 
whether  the  temple  rebuilt  ])y  Tiberius  was  or 
was  not  the  famous  monument  of  the  Forum,  it 

''  Smith's  Diet.  Geogr.  ait.  Roma,  p.  7G5. 


i 


IT) 


THE  ROMAN  FORUM. 


AHCH  OF  SEVERUS. 


17 


^^^J^^  should  be  remembered  that,  whatever  minor 
temples  of  Concord  ma}^  have  existed,^^  the  temple 
in  the  Forum  is  always  referred  to  by  Roman 
authors  as  the  Temple  of  Concord  without  qua- 
lification.^ When,  therefore,  Suetonius  and  Dio 
speak  of  the  dedication  of  the  Temple  of  Con- 
cord, it  is  as  difficult  to  suppose  that  they  refer 
to  some  less  know^n  temple  as  it  w^ould  be  to 
doubt  the  meaning  of  an  historian  of  London  w^ho 
spoke  of  the  rebuilding  of  St.  Paul's. 

Under  the  podium  of  the  Temple  of  Concord 

was   a  passage,    closed    in    ancient  times,   which 

appears  to  have  led  into  the  Tabulariiun. 

Meetings         The  Temple  of  Concord  was  frequently  used 

Senate        for  the  meeting  of  the  Senate.     It  was  to  this 

in  the  , 

Temple  of   placc   that   Cicero    brought   the   accomplices   of 

Concord.        r^      ^^• 

Catilme,  and  here  he  exposed  the  conspiracy j"*^^^ 
w^hile  the  Clivus  Capitolinus  was  thronged  with 
the  noblest  of  Rome.'  It  was  here,  during  the 
same  excitement,  that  Caesar,  as  he  came  out  of 

3«  Other  temples  of  Concord  were  an  aedicula  Concordiae  in  area 
Vulcani,  dedicated  by  Cn.  Flavius,  b.c.  304  (Liv.  ix.  46,  Plin.  N.  II. 
xxxiii.  6),  as  to  which  see  further  on  in  Chapter  IV.;  an  nedes 
Concordiae  in  arce,  vowed  by  L.  Manlius,  b.c.  219,  and  built  b.c. 
217  (Liv.  xxii.  33);  and  an  aedes  Concordiae  (qu.  Concordiae  Viri- 
lis)  in  Porticu Liviae.     (Ovid.  Fasti,  vi.  637.) 

See  the  passages  from  Pliny  already  cited,  and  those  from  Cicero 
and  Sallust  cited  in  this  and  the  followin<r  pages  ;  Tacitus,  Hist.  iii.  68. 

*^  Consul  Lentulum,  quod  praetor  erat,  ipse  manu  tenens  in  sena- 
tum  perducit,  reliquos  cum  custodibus  in  aedem  ConcH)rdiae  venire 
iubet.     Eo  senatum  advocat.     Sallust.  Bell.  Catilin. 

'  Quis  enim  eques  Romanus,  quis,  praeter  te,  adolescens  nobilis, 
.  .  .  quum  senatus  in  hoc  templo  esset,  in  clivo  Capitolino  non  fuit  ? 
Cic.  Phil.  ii.  7;  Cic.  p.  Sext.  12. 


the  Senate,  was  threatened  with  violence  by  the  chap.  i. 
Roman  knights,  who  stood  in  guard  round  the 
temple.42  It  was  here,  after  Caesar's  death,  that 
Cicero  and  the  Senate  defied  Mark  Antonv, 
while  the  knights  stood  crow^ded  on  the  steps  of 
Concord,  and  called  on  the  orator  to  haranirue 
the  people.^  Another  meeting  of  the  Senate  in 
this  temple  has  been  already  mentioned,  when  the 
death  of  Sejanus  was  decreed. 

It  is  not  easy  to  explain  why  this  temple  was 
chosen  during  the  Catilinarian  conspiracy  for  the 
meetings  of  the  Senate,  when  the  Curia  was  so 
near.  Possibly  the  greater  sanctity  of  the  place, 
or  even  a  greater  facility  for  defence,  mav  have 
given  rise  to  the  choice/  During  the  contest 
between  the  Senate  and  Antony  the  Curia  was 
not  in  use.^ 

In  front  of  the  ruin  of  the  Temple  of  Concord  Arch  of 
stands  the  arch  which  its  inscription  shows   to 
have   been   erected   in   honour   of  the    emperor 
Septimius    Severus  and  his  sons   Caracalla   and 
Geta,  but  from  which  the  name  of  the  last  has 

*'  Usque  adeo  uti  nonnulli  equites  Romani,  qui  praesidii  causa  cum 
telis  erant  circum  aedem  Concordiae  ....  egredienti  ex  senatu 
Caesari  gladio  minitarentur.      Sallust.  Bell.  Catilin. 

3  An  equites  Komanos  amplectetur  ?  Occulta  enim  fuit  eorum 
voluntas  iudiciumque  de  M.  Antonio?  Qui  frequentissimi  in  gradi- 
bus  Concordiae  steterunt,  .  .  .  me  una  cum  populo  Romano  in  con- 
cionem  vocaverunt.     Cic.  Phil.  vii.  8. 

*  In  Cicero's  first  oration  against  Catiline,  which  seems  to  have 
been  delivered  in  the  Temple  of  Jupiter  Stator,he  alludes  to  the  place 
of  meeting  as  hie  munitissimus  hahendi  senatus  locus.  Cic.  in  Cat.  i.  1. 
*  See  Chapter  IV.  on  the  position  and  history  of  the  Curia. 

C 


18 


CHAP.  I. 


Statue  of 
M.  Aure- 
lius. 


Umbilicus 
Romae, 


THE  ROMAN  FORUM. 

been  erased.  I  propose  to  show  in  a  future  chap- 
ter how  this  monument  broke  in  upon  the  ancient 
arrangement  of  the  Forum."*^ 

The  carriage-way  betw^een  the  Temple  of  Con- 
cord and  the  Arch  of  Severus  is  part  of  the 
ancient  road  leading  from  the  Clivus  Capitolinus 
to  the  prison  ;  but  the  road  branching  from  it  and 
passing  under  the  arch  is  probably  not  older  than 
the  arch  itself,  if  it  is  not  of  a  later  date.  This 
roadway  may  be  traced  further  to  the  south- 
east in  the  open  Forum,  and  probably  joined  the 
Sacra  Via  near  the  Temple  of  Divus  Julius. 

Beyond  the  arch  on  the  left-hand  (in  the  direc- 
tion of  S.  Adriano)  are  the  remains  of  the  pe- 
destal of  an  equestrian  statue.  There  seems 
some  reason  to  believe  that  this  was  the  original 
position  of  the  Marcus  Aurelius,  which  was  for- 
merly at  the  Lateran,  and  was  placed  by  Paul  III. 
on  its  present  pedestal  in  the  Piazza  del  Campi- 
doglio.  An  equestrian  statue  of  Constantine  is 
mentioned  in  the  Notitia  in  this  part  of  the  Forum.^ 

At  the  western  corner  of  the  arch,  in  front  of 
the  Temple  of  Concord,  is  the  nucleus  of  a  tall 
circular  structure,  about  fifteen  feet  in  diameter, 
which  is  identified  by  some  antiquaries  with  the 
Umbilicus  Eomae,  mentioned  in  the  Notitia  next 
to  the  Temple  of  Concord,  and  by  the  Einsiedlen 
MS.  placed   near   the    church    of   SS.    Sergio   e 

'«  See  Chapter  IV. 
J'  Fea,  Miseell.  Ixii.  18.    Winkelman,  Storia  Art.  Autiq.  (ed.  Ital.), 
iii.  410.     Xotitia  in  Reg.  viii.  (Note  49.) 


TRIBUNAL  OR  ROSTRA. 


19 


Bacco,  which  was  built  against  the  Arch  of  Sevems.    chap.  i. 
Nothing  more,  as  far  as  I  am  aware,  is  known  of 
this  monument.     It  appears  to  have  been  distinct 
from  the  Milliarium  Aureum,  which  is  separately 
named   in  the  Notitia,  between   the  Capitolium 
and  the  Via  Jugaria.''   Becker,  who  maintains  the  Genius 
identity   of  the   Umbilicus   and   the  Milliarium,  Romani. 
has    suggested    that   the   circular   pedestal   may 
have   been    that   of  a    Genius    Populi    Romani 
which  is  said  to  have  been  placed  at  the  Rostra 
by  Aurelian.^     At  the   time  of  the  triumvirate 
of  Octavianus,  Antonius,  and  Lepidus,  there  ap- 
pears to  have  existed  a  temple  of  some  importance 
dedicated    to  this  deity,  near  that  of    Concord. 
Its  site  is  unknown.'^ 

Commencing  from  the  edge  of  the  so-called  Tribunal 
Umbilicus  Romae  is  a  platform,  or  terrace,  on  a  ""'  ^'''''^' 
level  (or  nearly  so)  with  the  ground  towards  the 
Capitol,  l)ut  with  a  perpendicular  face,  about  ten  feet 
high,  forming  part  of  a  circle  towards  the  Forum, 
which  face  has  been  cased  with  marble.  Part 
of  this  monument  is  covered  by  the  modern  road. 
Below  it,  at  a  little  distance,  are  the  remains  of  a 

"  S.  Sergii,  ubi  umbilicum  Romae.  MS.  Einsiedlen.  (Becker, 
Ilandbuch,  i.  344.)     See  Notitia  in  Reg.  viii.     (Note  61.) 

'•>  Genium  populi  Romani  aureum  in  rostra  posuit.  Catal.  Scrip. 
Vienn.  lib.  ii.  p.  246.    (Becker,  Handbuch,  i.  360.)   See  further,  p  39. 

Forum  Romanuni  Magnum,  Genium  Populi  Romani  aureum,  equum 
Constantini.  senatum,  atrium  MInervae,  Forum  Caesaris,  August!, 
Nervae  Trajani,  etc.     Notitia  in  Reg.  viii. 

I  vireg  re  twi  «  rov  veut  tov  Peviov  tov  h'lfiov  Kai  eni  rfje  'Ofiovoing 
Trafi7r\i)0fic  u)pvOtj(rav.     Dio  Cass,  xlvii.  ii.     lb.  1.  8. 

c2 


» 


20 


THE  ROMAN    FORUM. 


CHAP.  I.  low  structure,  which  appears  to  have  been  carried 
in  a  straight  line  across  this  part  of  the  Forum, 
and  a  portion  of  which  is  to  be  seen  in  the  foot-pas- 
saire  leadin^:  under  the  modern  street.  The  base 
of  the  latter  structure  is  upon  the  same  level  as 
that  of  the  curved  terrace.  The  former  of  these 
monuments  was  recognised  by  Canina  as  one  of 
the  Rostra  of  the  Forum,  but  there  is  no  mark, 
w^here  the  face  of  it  can  be  examined,  of  its  ever 
having  been  ornamented  with  heads  of  ships  ; 
and  the  existence  of  another  building  in  front  of 
it  at  so  little  distance  would  seem  to  interfere 
with  its  suggested  use.  It  may  possibly  have 
been  the  site  of  the  Tribunal  in  the  Comitium,  of 
which  the  structure  in  front  probably  marks  the 
boundary.  ^^  Suetonius  describes  a  scene  enacted 
in  this  part  of  the  Forum,  of  which  the  terrace  now 
in  question,  if  it  be  not  of  later  date,  may  have  been 
the  stage.  When  Tiberius  celebrated  his  triumph 
after  his  return  from  Germany,  Augustus  sat  in 
state  at  the  foot  of  the  Clivus  Capitolinus,  at  which 
point  Tiberius  descended  from  his  car  and  threw 
himself  before  the  knees  of  his  adopted  father.^ 
Represent-  In  ouo  of  the  bas-rcliefs  on  the  Arch  of  Con- 
the  Forum  stautiuo,  and  of  the  date  of  that  monument,  the 

in  bas- 

•'*'  See  Chapter  IV.  on  the  Comitium,  and  Tribunal. 

-  A  Germania  in  urbem  post  biennium  regressus  triumphum  queni 
distulerat  egit,  prosequentibus  etiam  legatis,  quibus  triumphalia 
ornamenta  impetrarat.  Ac  prius  quani  in  Capitoliuni  flecteret, 
descendit  e  eurru,  seque  praesidenti  patri  ad  genua  summisit.  Sueton. 
Tib.  20. 


relief  of 
Constan- 
tine. 


TERRACE  WITH  CURVED  FACE. 


21 


y 


^^. 


THE   FORUM    IN  THE  TIME   OP  CONSTANTINE. 


emperor  is  represented  standing  upon  a  terrace   chap.i. 
between  the   triumphal   arches   of  Severus  and       — 
Tiberius,    Avith   attendants   about   liim,    and  the 
people  in  the  Forum  below.     The  terrace  so  re- 
presented appears  to  be  that  now  existing  with  the 
curved  face.^^ 

Returning  to    the  wall  of  the  Tabularium  we  Ruins  of 

find,  separated  from  the  Temple  of  Concord  by  a  Ve",^'"an' 

passage  of  about  five  feet  in  width,  the  ruins  of  a  ^nL^^' 
temple,  three  of  whose  Corinthian  columns  still 

*'  The  above  engraving  is  the  result  of  an  attempt  to  represent  in 
perspective  the  locality  of  the  bas-relief  of  Constantine.  A  photo- 
graph of  the  original  may  be  easily  procured.  The  cancelli,  or 
marble  railings,  are  probably  the  remains  of  the  fence  of  the  Comi- 
tium See  Chapter  IV.  Behind  the  arches  are  the  Basilica  Julia 
and  the  temples  of  Saturn,  Vespasian,  and  Concord;  behind  the  tem- 
pies  the  Tabularium. 


22 


THE  ROMAN  FORUM. 


CHAP.  I.  support  the  north  corner  of  the  entablature  of  the 
portico,  inscribed  with  the  letters  estitver.  This 
temple,  which  was  mounted  on  an  elevated  podium, 
faced  towards  the  Forum,  and  concealed  a  por- 
tion of  the  loggia  of  the  Tabularium.  Before  its 
southern  corner,  on  the  other  side  of  the  road 
which  passes  in  front  of  it,  is  the  nearly  perfect 
Ionic  hexastyle  portico  of  another  temple,  having 
its  fac;ade  at  right  angles  to  that  of  the  temple  last 
mentioned.  Upon  the  entablature  of  the  Ionic 
Portico  may  still  be  read  the  complete  inscription  : 

SENATVS  .  POPVLVSQVE  .  ROMANVS  . 
INCENDIO  .  CONSVMPTVM  .  RESTPfVIT . 

Behind  the  Portico  are  the  remains  of  some 
chambers  which  were  below  the  cell  of  the 
temple  ;  and  in  front  is  a  ruined  terrace  where  tlie 
steps  of  the  temple  must  have  been,  and  round 
which  the  Clivus  Capitolinus  is  carried  at  a  steep 
incline,  continuing  its  upward  course  along  the 
north-western  side  of  the  temple.  On  the  oppo- 
site or  south-eastern  side  of  the  temple,  a  lane  ran 
towards  the  Tiber,  and  beyond  the  lane,  which  was 
very  narrow  at  its  opening  into  the  Forum,  is  the 
latelv  cleared  area  of  an  extensive  building,  to 
which  we  shall  presently  return,  and  which  is 
2:enerallv  recoo:nised  as  the  Basilica  Julia. 
ver"sr'  The  two  tcmplcs  which  I  have  described  are 

Temples'    boyoud  disputo  those  of  Vespasian  and  Saturn, 
alfves."    ^^^^  antiquaries  have  not  been  agreed  in  distin- 

pasian. 


SITE  OF  TEMPLE  OF  SATURN. 


23 


guishing  their  identity.     In  spite  of  the  weighty   chap.  i. 
opposition  of  Becker,  modern  opinion  has  gene- 
rally agreed  with  Canina  in  ascribing  the  Ionic 
Temple  to  Saturn.     ^lany  of  the  ])assages  from  site  of 
ancient   authors    descriptive   of    the    Temple    of  satHL^*^ 
Saturn,  wliicli  have  been  cited  in  this  controversy,  to  old   " 

T      1  1         •.!  1  1  .    ,  authors. 

are  appncable  with  nearly  equal  appropriateness  on 
both  sides.  Varro  speaks  of  the  fane  of  Saturn 
as  being  in  the  "jaws"  of  the  Capitoline  hill; 
Servius  describes  the  same  temple  as  being  under 
or  before  the  Clivus  Capitolinus,  and  close  to  the 
Temple  of  Concord  ;^^  Dionysius  speaks  of  an 
altar  of  Saturn  by  the  root  of  the  liill  at  the 
ascent  from  the  Forum  to  the  Capitol,  and  of  the 
subsequent  temple  near  the  same  spot ;  ^  and  Fes- 
tus  mentions  the  altar  of  Saturn  at  the  bottom  of 
the  Clivus.^  If  the  question  depended  on  these 
descriptions  alone,  no  certain  decision  could  be 

**  Saturni  fanum  In  fauclbus  (Capitolini  mentis).  Varro,L.L.v,5(14). 

Orestis  vero  ossa  Aricia  Romam  translata  sunt,  et  condita  ante 
templum  Saturni,  quod  est  ante  clivum  Capitolinum  iuxta  Concordiae 
templura.  Serv.  ad  Aen.  ii.  115.  Sibi  oppidum  fecit  (Saturnus)  sub 
clivo  Capitoline,  ubi  nunc  eius  aedes  videtur.  Serv.  ad  Aen.  viii.  319. 
See  also  the  citation  from  the  Curiosum,  in  Note  61. 

*  Kai  Tov  j3u}fi6v  Tqi  KpoviiJ  tovq  ^Ettuovq  icpvaaadai  fitQ''  'HpaKXeovg,  og 
tTi  Kai  vvv  Siafitvti  Trapa  Ty  piZ,y  tov  \6(pov  Kara  Trjv  dvoSov  Tt)v  otto  rrjg 
dyopdg  tphpovtrav  eig  to  KaTriTwXiov.     Dionys.  i.  34. 

'Etti  tovtcjv  (AuXov  'Zffnrpiopiov  Kai  MdpKOv  MivvKtov^  ipaai  tCjv  vTrctTuiv 
TOV  VEujv  Ka9upu}9t)vai  Ttfi  Kpovy,  Kara  ti)v  dvocov  Ttfv  elg  to  KaTrtTwXiov 

<f)fpov(Tav  aTTo  Ttfg  dyopdg Tov  St   Trporov  (iiofiov  avToBi  KaQiSpvO' 

Gat  Xtyovm  tov  v<f  ')\paK\tovg  KaTf.aKwa(Tfitvov.     Dionys.  vi.  1. 

^  Saturnii  quoque  dicebantur  qui  castrum  in  imo  clivo  Capitolino 
incolebant,  ubi  ara  dicata  ei  dee  ante  bellum  Troianum  videtur. 
Festus,  ed.  Muller,  p.  322. 


24 


THE  ROMAN  FORUM. 


CHAP.  I. 

Ancvran 
monument. 


Inscrip- 
tions of 
the  three 
temples 
under  the 
Capitol. 


made.  But  the  most  convincing  proof  of  the 
received  opinion  is  founded  upon  the  inscription 
discovered  at  Ancyra,  which  records  the  beneiits 
confeiTed  by  Augustus  upon  the  Roman  people, 
and  which,  speaking  in  the  name  of  that  emperor, 
describes  the  Basilica  Julia  as  being  between  the 
Temple  of  Castor  and  the  Temple  of  Saturn." 
Now,  as  we  find  the  area  of  the  Basilica  Julia 
lying,  in  fact,  between  two  temples,  it  is  scarcely 
possible  to  resist  the  conclusion  that  the  temples 
are  those  named  by  Augustus  ;  and  since  the 
Temple  of  Saturn  must,  in  accordance  with  tlie 
authorities  already  cited,  be  placed  under  the 
Capitol,  and  not  at  the  other  end  of  the  Basilica, 
it  can  be  no  other  than  that  with  the  Ionic  portico. 
Becker's  answer,  that  the  Temple  of  Vespasian 
did  not  exist  at  the  date  of  the  Ancyran  Monu- 
ment, and  that  the  abutments  of  the  basilica  there 
given  might  therefore  on  his  theory  be  still  cor- 
rect, is  met  by  the  consideration  that  so  large  and 
important  a  space  as  that  occupied  by  the  disputed 
temple  is  not  likely  to  have  been  altogether 
vacant.  The  conclusion  is  confirmed  by  a  com- 
parison of  the  inscription  remaining  on  this  portico 
with  those  preserved  in  the  Einsiedlen  Manuscript. 
The  inscriptions  of  several  temples  are  there  given 
as  follows,  without  distinguishing  the  parts  belong- 
ing to  each  monument. 

•"    BASILICAM  QVAE  FVIT  INTER  AEDEM  CASTORIS  ET  AEDEM  SATURNI 

.  .  .  PERFECi.     Mon.  Ancyr.  ed.  Momuisen,  p.  56.     (Note  100.) 


TEMPLE  OF  VESPASIAN. 


25 


I 


Senatus  popuhisq.  romanus  incendio  con 

suniptum  restituit  divo  vespasiano  angusto. 

S.  P.  Q.  R.  inipp.  caess.  severus  et  antoninus 

pii  felic  aug.  restituerunt.  8.  P.  Q.  R.  aedem 

concordiae  vetnstate  collapsam  in  me 

liorem  faciem  opere  et  cultu  splendidiore  restituerunt.^^ 

It  is  universally  agreed  that  we  have  here  the 
inscrii)tions  from  three  temples  ;  and  Becker,  re- 
lying upon  the  punctuation  of  the  MS.,  has  made 
the  first  division  after  Augusto,  contending  that 
all  the  preceding  words  belong  to  the  temple  with 
the  Ionic  portico.  But,  as  the  inscription  on  the 
Ionic  portico  is  still  })erfect  (with  no  room  for 
more),  it  is  natural  to  conclude  that  where  that 
ends,  with  the  word  restituit^  the  second  inscrip- 
tion begins  ;  and  that  the  w^ords  Divo  Vespasimio 
Angusto  belong  to  the  second  or  intermediate 
temple.  This  is  confirmed  by  the  observation,  that 
the  letters  estitver  now  to  be  seen  on  that  temple 
are  ])elow  the  middle  of  the  entablature,  so  that 
the  inscription  of  which  tliey  were  part  was  pro- 
bably in  two  lines,  of  which  the  first  recorded 
the  original  dedication  by  the  Senate,  the  second 
the  restoration  under  Severus.  The  remaining 
letters  are  so  placed  as  to  leave  room  in  one  line  for 


CHAP.  I. 


*'  Becker,  Ilandbuch,  vol.  i.  p.  315  ;  Rom.  Topog.  in  Rom.  p.  35. 
The  MS.  preserved  in  the  monastery  of  Einsiedlen  is  apparently  the 
work  of  a  traveller  of  the  ninth  century.  IJecker  in  attributing  the 
Corinthian  Temple  to  Saturn  relics  partly  on  this  inscription,  divided 
as  above  mentioned,  and  partly  on  the  expression  iuxta  Concordiae 
templum  in  Servius  (Note  54),  and  on  the  order  in  which  the  three 
temples  are  named  in  the  Notitia  and  Curiosum.     (Note  61.) 


26 


THE  ROMAN  FORUM. 


CHAP.  I.  ^\i  ij^Q  words  from  Impp,  to  restituerunt.  Becker 
suggests  that  the  dedication  to  Vespasian  was 
inscri])ed  upon  tlie  opposite  pediment  of  the  Ionic 
temple,  and  supports  this  suggestion  by  the 
opinion  of  Bunsen,  that  the  principal  fagade  of 
this  building  was  towards  the  south.  The  sup- 
position tliat  this  important  temple  turned  its 
back  upon  the  Forum,  is  too  improbable  to  need 
discussion  ;  and  with  it  Becker's  theory  as  to  the 
position  of  the  dedicatory  inscription  falls  to  the 

Capitoiine  ^Tround.  A  further  confirmation  of  the  view  here 
advocated  is  furnished  by  a  fragment  of  the  Capi- 
toiine Plan,  which  represents  a  part  of  the  end  of 
a  building  with  a  triple  row  of  piers  or  columns, 
answering  in  every  respect  to  the  Basilica  Julia. 
On  this  building  is  the  letter  b,  which  forms  the 
commencement  of  a  word,^^  and  between  it  and 
the  adjoining  structure  are  the  letters  vrni,  part, 
apparently,  of  the  word  satvrni. 

Assuming,  on  the  strength  of  the  above  reasons, 
that  the  Ionic  temple  is  that  of  Saturn,  we  con- 
clude that  the  temple  with  the  Corinthian  columns 
was  that  dedicated  to  Vespasian,  the  situation  of 
which  in  the  immediate  neighbourhood  of  Concord 
and  Saturn  may  be  inferred  from  the  Curiosum 
and  Notitia,^  and  the  inscriptions  in  the  Einsiedlen 

<'°  Another  fragment  shows  part  of  a  building  with  like  piers,  in- 
scribed VLiA,  and  another  building  which  may  represent  Castor. 

^  Templum  Coneordiae  et  [Uml)ilicum  Romae,  Templum.  NotitiaJ] 
Saturni  et  Vespasiani  et  Titi,  Capitoliura,  Milliarium  Aureum,  Vicuni 
lugarium.     Curiosum,  in  Reg.  viii 


Temple  of 
Vespasian. 


StarJards  Gfioq  tstaJf 


FRAa.MKXTS  OF  CAPITOIINE  PLAN 


ThjR portions  marked    ■^  are  restorations  frcm.  tfot  e^rtgraiungs  vf  heUcn    /-  <.    u 
he-re.  rvrrected'  frimiy  the  VcjutuMn  dram/i^  I Ced^  3U39i 


TEMPLE  OF  SATURN. 


27 


i 


4 


Manuscript.     This  position  of  Vespasian,  side  by    chap,  l 
side  with  Concord,  agrees  well  with  the  allusion 
of  Statins,  where,  speaking  of  Domitian's  statue 
in  the  middle  of  the  Forum,  he  says  : 

Terga  pater  blandoque  videt  Concordia  vultu.^^ 

The  Temple  of  Vespasian  was  probably  built 
in  the  time  of  Titus,  and  appears,  from  the  in- 
scription already  cited,  to  have  been  restored  by 
the  Emperor  Severus.  We  may  conjecture,  from 
the  words  of  the  Notitia,  that  it  was  called  the 
Temple  of  Vespasian  and  Titus.  It  probably 
contained  images  of  both  divinities. 

In  the  wall  of  the  Tabularium,  behind  this  poo™y 
temple,  is  a  doorway,  which  was  built  up  in  an-  larium. 
cient  times,  and  further  concealed  by  the  con- 
struction of  the  Temple.  It  gave  access  to  a 
staircase,  which  is  still  preserved  in  the  interior, 
and  led  to  the  upper  floor  of  the  Tabularium  with- 
out any  communication  with  the  lower  story.  The 
condition  of  this  doorway  is  an  obvious  argument 
for  the  later  origin  of  the  temple,  by  which  it  was 

closed. 

The  Temple  of  Saturn  is  the  relic  of  a  very  Tcmpk  of 
early  worship.     Dionysius  relates  the  legend  of  a 
city  founded  by  Hercules  on  the  Saturnian  Hill,  mn  of 
afterwards  called  the  Capitol,  and  speaks  of  an 
altar  erected  by  the  companions  of  the  same  hero 
at  the  base  of  the  hill,  which  remained   to  the 

^  Stat.  Silv.  i.  1,  31.  (Note  168.) 


i 


28 


THE  IIOMAN  FORUM. 


Citv  of 
Saturnia. 


CHAP.  1.  historian's  timc/"^  Varro,  also,  appears  to  have 
believed  in  the  former  existence  of  a  Satiirnian 
citv,  of  which  he  found  three  traces  :  first,  the 
Temple  of  Saturn,  in  the  jawsof  tlie  hill;  secondly, 
the  gate,  formerly  called  Porta  Saturnia,  but  in 
his  day  Pandana  ;  and,  thirdly,  the  fact  that 
some  walls  of  buildings  behind  this  tem])le  were, 
in  some  legal  instruments,  called  postern  ram- 
parts.^    Virgil  alludes  to  the  same  tradition. 

Haec  duo  praeterea  disiectis  oppida  miiris 
Reliquias  vetenimqiie  vides  moniimenta  viroruiu. 
Hanc  laiius  pater,  banc  Satiirnus  coudidit  arccin  ; 
laniculiim  liiiic,  illi  fuerat  Saturnia  noinon.^ 

The  age  of  the  Temple  of  Saturn  was  a  dis- 
puted question  with  the  Roman  antiquaries.  Ma- 
crobius  relied  on  some  evidence  or  tradition  that 
it  was  dedicated  by  King  Tullus  Hostilius,  while 
Varro  asserted  that  it  was  begun  by  Tarquinius 
Superbus,  and  dedicated  by  Titus  Lartius,  the 
first  dictator,  B.C.  501.  Dionysius  attributes  it  to 
Sempronius  and  Minutius,  the  consuls  of  B.C.  497. 
Gellius  found  a  decree  of  the  Senate,  ordering 
the  erection  of  a  temple  of  Saturn,  the  building 


••3  Dionys.  i.  34.  (Note  55). 

*  Antiquum  oppidum  in  hac  fuisse  Saturnia  scribitur:  eius  vesti- 
gia etiani  nunc  manent  tria  ;  quod  Saturni  fiinum  in  faucibiis  ;  quod 
Saturnia  porta  quam  Junius  seribit  ibi,  quam  nunc  vocant  Pandanam; 
quod  post  aedem  Saturni  in  aedificiorum  le;:ibus  privatis  parietes 
Postici  Muri  sunt  scripti.     Varro,  L.  L.  v.  7  (13). 

*  Vir*;.  Aen.  viii.  355. 


Age  of  the 
temple. 


TEMPLE  OF  SATURN. 


29 


of  which  was  entrusted  to  L.  Furius,  Tribunus   ciiap.i. 
militum.     This  would,  apparently,  l)e  in  the  year 
B.C.  381. «« 

The    Temple  of  Saturn  was   the  treasury  of  ^X'"""' 
the  Roman  Government.    Phitarch  attributes  this  Temple  of 
arrangement  to  Publicola,  and  says  that  it  con- 
tinued to  his  own  day.     An  ancient  balance  was 
kept  in  the  temple,  a  vestige,  as  Varro  thought, 
of    the   time    when    payments    were    made    by 
weight.^      Suetonius  speaks  of  the  Treasury  of 
Saturn  as  an  existing  institution,   of  which  the 
Quaestors  were  the    original   and   proper   guar- 
dians.^    The  military  standards  w^ere  kept  in  the 
Treasury."     It  was  into  this  temple  that  Julius 

^  Tulluni  Hostilium,  cum  bis  de  Albanis,  de  Sabinis  tertio  tri- 
uraphasset,  inveni  fanum  Saturno  ex  voto  consacravasse,  et  Satur- 
nalia tunc  primum  Romae  instituta ;  quamvis  Varro  libro  sexto, 
qui  est  de  sacris  aedibus,  scribat  aedem  Saturno  ad  forum  faciendum 
Jocasse  L.  Tarquinium  regem,  T.  vero  Lartium  dictatorem  Satur- 
nalibus  earn  dedicasse.  Nee  me  fugit  Gellium  scribere,  senatum 
decrevisse,  ut  aedes  Saturni  fieret,  eique  rei  L.  Furium  tribunum 
militum  praefuisse.  Macrob.  i.  8.     Dionys.  vi.  1.  (Note  55.) 

^  TafiuTov  fiiv  oTTfCa^e  [UoTrXiKoXac]  top  tou  Kpovov  vabv^  «^  ii'txpi 
vvv  xpiofjifvoi  ^laTtXoimv.  Plutarch.  Poplic.  12.     Id.  Quaest.  Rom.  42. 

Aedem  vero  Saturni  aerarium  Romani  esse  voluerunt.     Macrob. 

Sat.  i.  8. 

Per  trutinam  solvi  solitum.  Vestigium  etiam  nunc  manet  in  aede 
Saturni,  quod  ea  etiam  nunc  propter  pensuram  trutinam  habet  posi- 
tam.     Ab  aere  aerarium  appellatum.     Varro,  L.  L   v.  36  (50). 

«  Collegio  quaestorum  .  .  .  curam  aerari  Saturni  reddidit  (Clau- 
dius), quam  medio  tempore  praetores  aut,  uti  nunc,  praetura  functi 
sustinuerant.     Sueton.  Claud.  24.     Tac.  Ann.  xiii.  28,  29. 

'■'  'EKiXtvfffv  tjc  Tutv  Upwv  Til  (Tijfieia  KOTatpipeiv.  Dionys.  x.  18.  Com- 
pare Liv.  iii.  69,  Signa  ...  a  quaestoribus  ex  aerario  prompta  dela- 
taque  in  campum ;  Liv.  iv.  22.  lb.  vii.  23.  Livy  also  mentions  a 
sanctius  aerarium,  where  a  reserve  of  gold  was  kept.     Liv.  xxvii.  10. 


30 


THE  ROMAN  FORUM. 


COURSE  OF  THE  TRIUMPHS. 


31 


Architec- 
ture of  the 
temple. 


n 


CHAP.  I.   Caesar  made  a  violent  entry  for  the  purpose  of 
taking  possession  of  the  treasure  of  the  State. 

Tristi  spoliantiir  tcmpla  rapina 
Pauperiorque  fuit  tunc  primiim  Caesare  Roma.''^ 

The  Temple  of  Saturn  was  rebuilt  in  the  time 
of  Augustus  by  Munatius  Plancus/  and  it  pro- 
bably at  that  time  assumed  the  architectural 
form  which  it  subsequently  retained.  Though 
the  existing  portico  has  been  generally  considered 
to  be  a  late  restoration,'  we  have  evidence  that 
in  the  time  of  Trajan  the  character  of  the  archi- 
tecture was  similar  to  that  we  now  see.'  It  is  very 
probable  that  before  the  latest  restoration  of  the 
temple  its  use  as  a  treasury  had  ceased  ;  but  the 

•0  Lucan.  Phars.  167. 

Aerarium  quoque  sanctum,  quod  tardius  apcriebant  tribuni,  jussit 
effrinrri,  censum  et  patrimonium  populi  Romani  ante  rapuit  quam 
imperium.     Florus,  Epit.  ii.  13.  [iii.  2.] 
The  locality  is  most  clearly  indicated  by  Lucan. 

Metellus 
Ut  videt  ingenti  Saturnia  templa  revelli 
Mole,  rapit  gressus  et  Caesaris  ugmina  rumpens, 
Ante  fores  nondum  reseratae  constitit  aedis. 
*  ♦  ♦  * 

Tunc  rupes  Tarpeia  sonat,  raagnoque  reclusas 
Testatur  stridore  fores.     Tunc  conditus  imo 
Eruitur  templo  multis  intac;us  ab  annis 
Romani  census  populi.     Pharsalia,  iii.  119. 
Compare  Plutarch.  Caes.  39  ;  Appian.  Bell.  Civ.  ii.  41 ;  Die  Cass. 

xli.  17. 

»  Multaque  a  multis  tunc  extructa  sunt,  sicut  ...   a  Munatio 

Planco  aedes  Saturni.     Suetonius,  Aug.  29. 

2  Canina,  Foro  Romano,  347.     Becker,  Ilandbuch,  i.  357. 
'  See  p.  66. 


chambers   beneath  the  cell,  of  which  there   are  chap.i. 
remains,  may  be  some  small  traces  of  the  lower 
floor, — imum    templum^  as   Lucan    calls   it, — in 
which  the  treasures  were  deposited. 

It  is  worth  observation,  that  the  lofty  podium  Height  of 

i^j.i»cij-  1*1  •  11        xi        this  temple 

m  front  oi  oaturn,  which  was  occasioned  by  the  imitated 
back  of  the  temple  being  on  rising  ground,  pro-  ^°  ^*  ^^^' 
bably  suggested    that  peculiar    character  which 
marks  all  the  temples  of  the  Forum,  the  later 
buildings  being  raised  on  artificial  substructions 
in  imitation  of  the  earlier  temple. 

The  altar  of  Saturn  already  mentioned  was  not 
superseded  by  the  temple,  l)ut  remained  in  the 
time  of  Dionysius,  and  to  a  later  date.'^  There 
seems  to  have  been  also  at  one  time  a  Sacellum 
Ditis  adjoining  this  altar.^ 

Before  the  temple  was  a  statue  of  Silvanus,  by 
which  there  grew  a  fig-tree,  which  was  removed 
at  an  early  date  with  some  religious  ceremonies, 
because  it  was  overturning  the  statue.^ 

The  Clivus  Capitolinus  was  the  route  by  which  Course 

^  .  -^  of  the 

the  triumphs  reached  the  Capitol.  The  entire  triumphs. 
course  of  these  processions  is  not  free  from  con- 
troversy; but  it  seems  clear  that  after  traversing 
the  Circus  Maximus  they  followed  the  road  along 
the  eastern  side  of  the  Palatine  Hill,  identified  by 
Becker  with  the  Via  Triumphalis,  at  the  end  of 

■»  Dionys.  i.  34  (Note  55) ;  Festus,  ed.  Miill.,  p.  322  (Note  56) ; 
Macrob.  Sat.  i.  8. 
*  Macrob.  Sat.  i.  11.  «  Plin.  xv.  20. 


'J 


32 


THE  ROMAN  FORUM. 


CHAP.  I.  which  is  placed  the  Arch  of  Constantine,  mounted 
the  slope  where  we  now  drive  over  the  old  pave- 
ment to  the  Arch  of  Titus,  descended  the  Sacred 
Way,  and  so  passed  through  the  Forum  to  the 
Capitoline  Hill.  It  is  a  melancholy  association 
attached  to  this  part  of  the  Forum,  that  in  front 
of  the  Temple  of  Saturn,  where  the  victorious 
general  turned  his  car  to  mount  to  the  Capitoline 
sanctuary,  he  was  accustomed  to  order  the 
captive  chiefs  who  had  formed  part  of  the  pro- 
cession to  be  led  to  the  Prison  and  put  to  death." 
Between  the  Temple  of  Saturn  and  the  Tabu- 
larium  is  a  broad  terrace  at  a  level  considerably 
higher  than  the  Forum,  towards  which  it  is  open, 
but  having  at  the  back  a  long  portico,  built  in  part 
against  the  Tabularium,  and  in  part  against  the 
retaining  wall  of  the  Clivus  Capitolinus,  which 
was  here  above  it.  Behind  the  portico  was  a  series 
of  small  cells.  This  portico  has  been  a  good  deal 
restored.  It  bore  on  its  entablature  an  inscription, 
of  which  the  following  is  Canina's  restoration. 

[dEVM  .  CJONSENTIVM  .  SACROSANCTA  .  SIMVLACRA  . 
CVM  .  OMNI  .  LO  .  .  .  NE  .  CVLTV  .  INI  .  .  .  [vJeTTIVS  . 
PRAETEXTATVS  .  V  .  C  .  PRAE  .  Vl^BI  .  CVRANTE  . 
LONGEIO  .  CONSVLE. 


Porticus 
Deuiii 
Conscn- 
tum. 


"'  Quuiu  (le  foro  in  Capitolium  currum  flectere  incipiunt,  illos  duci 
in  carcereni  iubent ;  idemque  dies  et  vietoribus  imperii  et  victis 
vitae  finem  facit.  Cic.  Verr.  Actio  II.  v.  30.  Ilor.  Od.  ii.  13.  17.  Liv. 
xxvi.  13;  xxxviii.  60.  loseph.  vii.  29.  Perseus,  after  having  followed 
the  triumph  of  Paullus,  appears  to  have  been  spared.  Liv.  xlv. 
40,  42. 


PORTICO  OF  THE  DEI  CONSENTES. 


33 


> 


Hence  it  appears  that  this  porticus  once  con-  chap.  i. 
tained  the  images  of  the  twelve  Di  Consentes, 
which  w  ere  placed  here  by  Vettius  Agorius  Prae- 
textatus,  Praefectus  Urbi,  a.d.  3G7.  Thisw^as  in  all 
probability  a  restoration  of  a  much  earlier  shrine 
of  these  deities,  whose  gilded  images,  six  of  gods 
and  six  of  goddesses,  are  mentioned  by  Varro  as 
existing  at  the  Forum.'^ 

Between  the  terrace  last  described  and  the  Sc^^^a 
Temple  of  Vespasian  is  a  passage  at  a  lower  level, 
about  twelve  feet  wide,  into  which  open  a  series 
of  cells  or  chambers  constructed  under  the  side  of 
the  terrace.  In  this  neighbourhood  was  found  an 
inscription,  preserved  by  some  of  the  older  Roman 
topographers,  which  relates  to  the  restoration,  by 
A.  Fabius  Xanthus  and  others,  of  a  scliola^  appa- 
rently an  office  or  waiting-room,  for  the  clerks 
and  criers  of  the  aediles.^  Hence  these  chambers 
have  gained  the  name  of  Scliola  Xantha,  a  name 
first    found    in    the    apocryphal  account    of  the 

'^  Invocabo  ....  xii.  deos  consentis,  neque  tamen  eos  urbanos, 
quorum  imagines  ad  forum  auratae  stant,  sex  mares  et  faeminae 
totidem,  sed  illos  xii.  deos  qui  maxime  agricolarum  duces  sunt. 
Varro,  de  Re  Rustica,  i.  1 .  The  language  of  the  inscription  differs  from 
that  ofVarro's  day.  Item  quaerunt  .  .  cur  appellant  omnes  aedes 
deum  Consentum,  et  non  deorura  Consentium.  Varro,  L.  L.  viii. 
38  (121). 

^  C.  AVILIVS  .  LICINIVS  .  TROSIVS  .  CVRATOR  .  SCHOLARVM  . 
DE  .  SVO  .  FECIT  .  .  BEBRYX  .  AVG  .  L  DRVSIANVS  .  A.  FABIVS  .  XAN- 
THVS  .  CVR  .  SCRIBIS  .  LIBRARIIS  .  ET  .  PRAECONIBVS  .  AED  .  CVR  . 
SCnOLAM  .  AB  .  INCnOATO  .  REFECERVNT  .  MARMORIBVS  .  ORNAVERVNT  . 
VICTORIAM  .  AVGVSTAM   .  ET  .  SEDES    .    AENEAS    .    ET  .  CETERA  .  ORNA- 

MENTA  .  DE  .  svA  .  PECvNiA  .  FECERv>T.     Gruler,  luscript.  1 70,  3  ; 

D 


34 


THE  ROMAN  FORUM. 


Porta  Ster 
coraria. 


Vicus 
Jngarius, 


CHAP.  I.  regions  of  Rome,  which  passes  under  the  name 
of  Sextiis  Riifus.^'^ 

Half-way  up  the  Clivus  Capitolinus  was  a  narrow 
passage,  into  which  once  a  year,  on  the  15th  of 
June,  the  ordure  from  the  Temple  of  Vesta  was 
carried.  This  was  the  last  day  of  the  Festival  of 
Vesta,  which  began  June  7th,  and  until  this  cere- 
mony was  completed  no  legal  business  could  be 
done.  The  passage  was  closed  by  a  gate  called 
Porta  Stercoraria.^ 

The  lane  which  ran  between  the  Temple  of 
Saturn  and  the  Basilica  Julia  was  the  Vicus 
Juo'arius,  said  to  have  derived  its  name  from  an 
altar  of  Juno  Juga,  the  patroness  of  marriage.^ 
This  street  led  from  the  Forum  to  the  Carmental 
Gate,  which  was  situated  between  the  Capitol  and 
the  river.  On  the  occasion  of  the  special  sacrilice 
which  was  offered,  B.C.  207,  to  Juno  Regina, 
whose  temple  was  on  the  Aventine,  the  pro- 
cession entered  the  citv  at  the  Carmental  Gate, 
and  came  by  the  Vicus  Jugarius  to  the  Forum, 
whence  it  proceeded  by  the  Vicus  Tuscus,  the 

Marliani,  Urb.  topogr.  ii.  10;  Lucio  Fauno,  Ant.  di  Roma,  p.  49. 
(Becker,  Handbuch,  i.  318). 

*"  Burn,  Rome  and  the  Carapagna,  p.  96. 

•  Q.S.D.F.  Quando  stercum  delatum  fas  :  ab  eo  appellatus  quod 
eo  die  ex  aede  Vestae  stercus  everritur  et  per  Capitolinum  clivura 
in  locum  defertur  certum.     Varro,  L.  L.  vi.  4  (60). 

Stercus  ex  aede  Vestae  xvii.  kal.  lul.  defertur  in  angiportum 
medium  clivi  Capitolini,  qui  locus  clauditur  porta  Stercoraria.  Fest. 
ed.  Mull.  p.  344. 

2  Paul.  Diac.  in  Fest.  ed.  Mull.  p.  104. 


VICUS  JUGARIUS. 


55 


Velabrum,  and  the  Boarium  Forum,  to  the  Clivus  chap.i. 
Pu])licius  and  the  temple  of  Juno  Regina.  That 
the  Vicus  Jugarius  was  close  under  the  Capitoline 
hill  we  know  from  tlie  fact  mentioned  by  Livv 
that  in  the  year  B.C.  1D2  a  mass  of  rock  fell 
from  that  hill  into  the  street  and  crushed  several 
j)ersons.^'^  Tlie  modern  street,  running  in  the  same 
direction,  by  the  Church  of  the  Consolation,  is 
verv  close  to  the  cliff. 

t-' 

The  temple  of  Ops  is  more  than  once  alluded  Temple  of 
to  by  Cicero  as  the  depository  of  the  treasure  of 
Caesar,  amounting  at  his  deatli  to  700,000,000 
sesterces,  and  a]i])ropriated  by  Antonius  under 
the  pretence  of  carrying  out  his  will, — ill-gotten 
wealth,  as  the  orator  thouglit,  but  extremely 
useful  if  it  liad  fallen  into  the  right  hands.^  This 
temple  has  been  supposed  to  have  adjoined  that 
of  Saturn,  but  there  is  no  distinct  proof  of  its  site. 
The  worship  of  Ops,  the  symbol  of  Plenty,  was 
connected  with  that  of  the  god  of  agriculture. 


fl3 


Ab  aede  Apollinis  boves  feminae  albae  duae  porta  Carmentali 
in  urbem  ductae  ...  A  porta  lugario  vico  in  forum  venere :  in  foro 
pompa  constitit  .  .  .  Inde  vico  Tusco  Velabroque  per  Boarium  forum 
in  clivum  Publicium  atque  aedem  lunonis  Reginae  perrectum.  Liv. 
xxvii.  37. 

Saxum  ingens,  sive  imbribus  sive  motu  terrae  leviore  quam  ut 
alioqui  sentiretur,  labefactatum,  in  vicum  lugarium  ex  Capitolio  pro- 
cidit,  et  multos  oppressit.     Liv.  xxxv.  21. 

*  Ubi  est  septies  millies  sestertium,  quod  in  tabulis  quae  sunt  ad 
Opis  patebat?  funestae  illius  quidem  pecuniae,  sed  tamen,  si  iis 
quorum  erat  non  reddereter,  quae  nos  a  tributis  posset  vindicare. 
Cic.  Phil.  ii.  37.     lb.  i.  7:  ii.  14. 

D  2 


3() 


THE  nO.MAX  FOKUM. 


ciiAP.  I.    Her   great  festival,    the    Opalia,    was   celebrated 
durin^^  tbe  Saturnalia,  on  the  19th  of  Decem])er,'' 
and  the  manner  in  which  this  festival  is  entered 
in   the  Fasti   Amiternini   seems  to  indicate  that 
there  was  some  Sacrum  of  Ops  at  the  Forum.' 
Donati  mentions  two  antique  bronze  weio:hts,  of 
two  and  five  pounds,  preserved  at  the  Collegio 
Romano,  which  were  inscribed  in  silver  letters, 
TEMPL  .  oris  .  AVG  .  II  .  and  templ  .  opis  .  avg  .  v  . 
and  suggests  that  thev  were  used  for  weighing 
money:  it  does  not  appear  where  they  were  found/ 
An  altar  of  Ops  Augusta  and  Ceres,  in  the  Yicus 
Jugarius,  is  noticed  in  the  Fasii,  at  which  altar  a 
feast  was  held  on  the  lOtli  of  August;  and  Livy 
mentions  an  Aedes  Opis  in  the  Capitol,  where,  as 
appears  from  the  Fasti,  the  Opiconsiva  were  cele- 
brated August  25th.' 

At  the  end  of  the  Vicus  Jugarius,  adjoining 
the  Basilica  Julia  (under  the  modern  roadway 
which  crosses  the  excavated  space),  was  the  site 
of  the  Lacus  Servilius,  a  spot  alluded  to  by 
Cicero  and  Seneca  as  associated  with  the  memory 
of  the  proscriptions  of  Sulla,  this  fountain  having, 
hke  the  Rostra,    been    used    for    displaying   the 

"^  Macrob.  Saturn,  i.  10. 

«  XVI.    [Kal.   lan.J    sat  .  np  .  fer  .  saturno   saturn.  ad  for 
XIV  .  opal  .  NP  .  FER  .  opi  ad  forvm.     Fast.  Amitern.  Dec 

pJ-,^--";'!"  \?'  ^"'"-  •'•     ^^'"'^-  '^^"^-   '"•  ^9^-)     Compare  Cic. 
1  hil.  11.  38.     Varro,  L.  L.  v.  36.  (Note  67.) 

^«  Liv.  xxxix.  22.      Fast.   Capran.  iv.  Id.  Aug.;  viii.  Kal.  Sept.; 
rust.  Aniitern.  iv.  Id.  A\x». 


Lacns  Ser- 
vilius. 


1 


:\IILLIAKIUM  AUKEUM. 


37 


heads  of  tiie  slaughtered  senators.     M.  Agri|)pa   chap.  i. 
adorned    this    monument    with   the    figure    of  a       — 
hydra.^^ 

Another   monument,    which    must   have    been  Miiiia. 
near  the  end  of  the  Vicus  Jugarius,  is  the  Millia-  Aureu.... 
rium  Aureum,  or  Golden  Milestone,  which  was 
erected  by  Augustus,  b.c.  29.     It  appears  to  have 
been  also  called  the  City  Milestone,  MUliarium 
Urbisy'  Pliny  speaks  of  the  Milliarium  as  situated 
at  the  top  of  the  Forum,  and  uses  it  to  give  an 
idea  of  the  greatness  of  Rome  by  calculatino-  from 
It  the  distances  to  the  thirty-seven  gates,  the  sum 
of  which  distances  he  reckons  as  exceeding  thirty 
miles.     The  gates  were  considerably  within  the 
limits  of  the  inhabited  space,  and  the  total  length 
of  all  the  streets  from  the  milestone  to  the  ex- 
tremity of  the  houses  is  calculated  by   Pliny  as 
somewhat  more  than   seventy  miles.^     Plutarch 


89 


Multos  caesos,  non  ad  Tiirasiinenum  lacum  sed  ad  Servilium, 
vidimus.     Cic.  Hose.  Am.  32. 

Videant  lar-^um  in  foro  sanguinem,  et  supra  Servilium  lacum,  id 
enim  proscriptionis  Sullanaespoliarium  est,  senatorum  capita.  Seneca, 
de  Prov.  3. 

Servilius  lacus  appellabatur  [ab]  eo  qui  eum  faciendum  curaverat, 
in  principio  vici  lugari,  continens  basilicae  luliae,  in  quo  loco  fuit 
effigies  hydrae  posita  a  M.  Agrippa.     Festus,  ed.  Mull.  p.  290. 

""  Dio  Cass.  liv.  8.     Macer  in  Dig.  lib.  L.  tit.  xvi.  §  154. 

'  Eiusdem  spatlum  mensura  currente  a  milliario  in  capite  Roiuani 
fori  statuto  ad  slngulas  portas,  quae  sunt  hodie  numero  triginta 
septem,  ita  ut  duodecim  semel  numerentur  i)raetereanturque  ex 
veteribus  septem  quae  esse  desierunt,  efiicit  passuum  per  directum 
XXX.  M.  DCCLV.  Ad  extrema  vero  tectorum  cum  castris  practoriis 
ad  eodem  milliario  per  vicos  omnium  viarum  mensura  colligit  paullo 
amplius  septuaginta  millia  j)a6s;uum.     IMin.  N.  II.  iii.  D. 


38 


THE  ROMAN  FOKUM. 


MILLIAIUUM  AUREUM. 


39 


Meeting:;  of 
Otho  with 
the  J'rae- 
torian 
conspi- 
rators. 


I 


4'' 

point.   But  the  distances  upon   them  appear  to 
have  l)een  measured  from  the  crates. 

The  principal  historical  interest  of  the  Millia- 
rium  arises  from  its  having  been  the  rendezvous 
at  which  Otho  met  the  handful  of  praetorians  by 
whom    the   empire   of    Galba   was   overthrown. 
The   accounts    given    by   various    historians    of 
this  incident   involve  the   mention    of  so   many 
localities  of  Rome  as  to  give  it  a  special  topo- 
graphical significance.     Otho  made  his  morning 
visit  to  the   Emi)eror   in    the    Palatine,   and  ac- 
companied him  in  his  sacrifice  at  the  temple  of 
Apollo,  where  the  haruspex,  on  inspection  of  the 
entrails,  foretold  a  pressing  danger.     Otho  then 
received  a   message    that   his   architect  awaited 
him,    and,    making   an    excuse   for    leaving    the 
emperor,  proceeded  by  what  Suetonius  callls  the 
back  part  of  the  Palatine,  through  the  house  of 
Tiberius,  to  the  yela])rum,  and  so  to  the  Golden 
Milestone   in    the   Forum   under   the   temple    of 
Saturn.     Here  he  was  met  by  three-and-twenty 
soldiers,  who  alarmed  him  by  openly  saluting  him 
emperor.     He  was  then  put  into  a  lady's  chair, 
and  hurried  through  the  Forum  to  the  Praetorian 
Camp.^^     The  situation  of  the  Golden  Milestone, 


Site  of 
the  Mil 
liarium. 


-  Sacrificanti  pro  aede  Apollinis  Galbae  haruspex  tristia  exta  et 
mstantes  insidias  ac  domesticum  hostem  praedicit,  audiente  Othone 
nam  proximus  adstiterat  ...  nee   multo   post   libertus  Ononiastus 
nuntiat,  expectan  eum  ab  architecto  et  redemtoribus  .         Otho 


at  the  head  of  the  Forum  and  under  the  Temple  ^^^^-  ^^ 
of  Saturn,  would  lead  us  to  look  for  it  o])posite 
the  end  of  the  Vicus  Jugarius,  at  the  southern 
termination  of  the  curved  teiTace  alreadv  de- 
scribed,  in  a  position  corresponding  to  that  of  the 
round  pedestal  at  the  other  end  of  the  same 
terrace.  Some  remains  of  the  Milliarium  may 
possibly  be  discovered  in  case  of  the  removal  of 
the  modern  road,  which  crosses  the  Forum.^^ 

innixus  liberto  per  Tiberianum  domum  in  Velabrum,  inde  ad  millia- 
rium aureum  sub  aedem  Saturni  pergit.  Ibi  tres  et  viginti  specula- 
tores  consalutatum  imperatorem  ac  paucitate  salutautium  trepidum, 
et  sellae  festinanter  Impositum,  strictis  mucronibus  rapiunt.  Tac. 
Hist.  i.  27. 

Ergo  destinata  die  praemonitis  consciis  ut  se  in  foro  sub  aede 
Saturni  ad  milliarium  aureum  opperirentur,  mane  Galbam  salutavit, 
utque  consueverat  osculo  exceptus,  etiam  sacrifieanti  interfuit 
audivitque  praedicta  haruspicis.  Deinde  liberto  adesse  architectos 
nuntiante,  quod  signum  convenerat,  quasi  venalem  domum  inspec- 
turus  abscessit,  proripuitque  se  postica  parte  l*alatii  ad  constitutum. 
Alii  febrem  simulasse  alunt  .  .  .  Tunc  abditus  propere  muliebri 
sella  in  castra  contendit.     Sueton.  Otho.  6. 

'Arrr/X^f,  Kai  ^td  ri/c  Tififpiov  KaXovfxhnjc  oIkioc  KciTafidc  tl^uti'^sv  eig 
dyopuv,  ov  xpv'^ovc  t'tnrliKH  kUov,  ei'f  ov  at  Ttrfitjfitvai  tTic:  IraXiaQ  i^oi 
TTiiaai  TfXfvTujffip.     Plutarch.  Galba,  24. 

"  There  are  some  remains  of  a  round  monument  built  into  the 
north  wall  of  the  passage  under  the  modern  road,  near  the  Temple 
of  Saturn.  I  do  not  know  whether  these  are  in  situ.  The  name 
umbilicus  liomae  (see  p.  18)  looks  like  a  fanciful  synonym  for  j/iillia- 
rium  urhis.  But  the  Umbilicus  Romae  is  placed  by  the  author  of 
the  Einsiedlen  MS.  at  the  Church  of  S.  Sergio,  which  lay  behind 
the  Arch  of  Severus  and  partly  upon  it.  The  two  are  separately 
named  in  the  Notitia,  but  in  the  Curiosum  only  the  Milliarium.  See 
Note  61. 


40 


THE  ROMAN  FORLM. 


MEDIUM  FORUM. 


Infimum 
Forum. 

Medium 
Forum. 


CHAPTEK   11. 

THK  MID  FORUM. 

CHAP.II.  The  partition  of  the  excavated  space,  wliicli  is 

HZ^tt  ^^""^  ^^•'I'*«'d  foi-  purposes  of  study,  corresponds 

the  Forum.  With  an  ancient  division  of  the  Roman  Forum. 

The  open  area,  wliicli  lay  under  the  modern  road 

crossing   the   Forum,   together   with    the    space 

between  that  road  and  the  great  temples  at  the 

comitium,   foot  of  the  Capitol,  constituted  theComitium."^  The 

other  extremity  of  the  Forum,  where  the  Temple 

of  Julius  was  built,  was  called  Infinuim  Forum." 

The  expression  Mid  Forum  appears  to  have 
been  applied  to  the  space  lying  between  the  Basi- 
lica Julia  on  the  one  side  and  the  Basilica  Aemilia 
on  the  other,  and  bounded  in  the  direction  of  the 
Capitol  by  the  edge  of  the  Comitium,  and  in  the 
du-ection  of  the  Regia  by  the  cross-road  in  front 
of  the  Temple  of  Castor.  Cicero  speaks  of  Paul- 
lus  restoring  a  basilica  in  medio  foro; '  and  in 
another  place  of  one  of  the  praetors  having  his 
tribunal  in  foro  medio,  where  the  locality  appears 

-  If  this  part  of  the  Forum  had  not  ha,l  the  name  of  Comitium  it 
m,.h    have  been  ealled  .„,««„»  /„„,,.     jy;^„^^.       ^^„        ^^^ 
use  the  word  Comitium,  calls  it  the  best  and  m'ost  c  nspieuous  par 

mity  of  the  i  or„m,  caput  Homanifori.    Plin.  N.  H.  iii.  9  (note  91  \ 
See  more  as  to  the  topography  of  the  Comitium  in  Chapter  IV       ^ 
l-laut.  Curcuho,  iv.  i.  14.     (Note  97) 
'  ^i'^e'-o  ad  Atticuu,,  iv.  16,  8.     See  Chapter  VI. 


Hi 


^) 


41 


to  have  been  near  the  temple  of  Castor.""     The  chap.  ii. 
same  expression  occurs  in  Plautus.  — 

In  foro  infimo  boni  homines  iitqne  ditcs  ambulant, 
In  medio  propter  canaleni  ibi  ostentatores  meri.? 

Livy,  in  telling  the  story  of  the  self-devotion  of 
Curtius,  commences  by  relating  that,  owing  to  an 
earthquake  or  some  other  force,  almost  the  whole 

"  Dixi  pro  Bestia  de  ambitu  apud  praetorem  Cn.  Domitium  in  foro 
med,o,  maximo  conventu :  incidicjue  in  eum  locu.n  dicendo,  „uum 
Sextius  mulfs  .n  tempio  Castoris  vulneribus  aceeptis  subsidio  Bestiae 
servatus  esset.     C,c.  ad  Quinlun.  frat.  ii.  3.     See  further,  p.  81 

The  passage  in  which  these  lines  oceur  touches  upon  so  many 
objects  m  the  M,d  >oru.n,  that  it  m,ay  be  convenient  to  give  it  here 
ent,re.  Whether  it  is  the  work  of  Plautus,  has  been  doubted,  on 
account  of  the  mention  of  a  basilica.  See  Chapter  VI.  on  the  Basilica 
lorcia. 

Commonstrabo  quo  in  quemque  hominem  facile  inveniatis  loco 

*  *  ♦  ♦  » 

Qui  periurum  convenire  volt  hominem,  mitto  in  Comitium  • 
Qui  mendacem  et  gloriosum,  apucl  Cloacinae  sacrum. 
Ditis  damnosos  maritos  sub  Basilica  quaerito  : 
Ibidem  sunt  scorta  e.xoleta,  quique  stipulari  solent. 
Symbolarum  collatores  apud  forum  piscarium. 
In  foro  infimo  boni  homines  atque  dites  ambulant, 
In  medio  propter  canalem,  ibi  ostentatores  meri. 
Confidentes  garrulique  et  malevoli  supra  lacum, 
Qui  alter!  de  nihilo  audacter  dicunt  contumelia'm, 
Kt  qui  ipsi  sat  habeant  quod  in  se  possit  vere  dicier 
Sub  Veteribus,  ibi  sunt  qui  dant  quique  accipiunt  foenere. 
Pone  aedem  Castoris,  ibi  sunt  subito  quibus  credas  male. 
In  Tusco  vico,  ibi  sunt  homines  qui  ipsi  sese  venditant. 
In  Velabro  vel  pistorem  vel  lanium  vel  aruspicem, 
Vel  qui  ipsi  vortant,  vel  qui  aliis  ut  vorsentur  praebeant. 
Ditis  damnosos  maritos  apud  Leucadiam  Oppiam. 

^,  ,.    .  ,  P^aut.  Curculio,  iv.  1. 

Ibe  mnahs  in  medio  foro  is  probably  simply  tiie  gutter.  Canali- 
colae  forenses  homines  pauperes  dicti,  quod  circa  canales  fori  consis- 
terent.     Paul.  Diac.  in  Fest.  ed.  Mull.  p.  45. 


42 


THE  ROMAN  FORUM. 


Basilica 
Julia. 


CHAP.  II.  Mid  Forum  had  sunk  into  a  vast  cavern  of  an 
immense  depth ;''  and  Pliny  uses  the  same  phrase 
to  describe  tlie  position  of  a  self-sown  fig-tree  at  the 
Lacus  Curtius.'  The  area  of  the  Medium  Forum 
has  now  been  cleared  down  to  its  ancient  level, 
with  the  exception  of  a  strip  on  its  north-eastern 
side,  where  we  may  still  hope  to  find  traces  of  the 
Basilica  Aemilia  and  other  important  buildings. 

The  whole  of  the  south-western  side  of  the  Mid 
Forum  was  bounded  by  one  of  the  longer  sides  of 
a  building,  of  which  the  extensive  pavement  has 
been  recently  cleared,  occupying  a  rectangular 
space  of  about  four  hundred  by  one  hundred  and 
sixty  feet.  This  vast  edifice  appears  to  have  been 
supported  by  a  multitude  of  piers  or  columns 
arranged  in  triple  rows  around  the  central  space, 
having  eighteen  on  the  longer  facade  and  eight 
on  the  shorter.  Of  the  superstructure  there  exist 
but  small  remains,  principally  at  the  western  end, 
where,  owing  to  the  rise  of  the  ground  in  the 
direction  of  the  Vicus  Jugarius,  this  corner  of  the 
building  w^as  constructed  against  the  side  of  the 
hill,  and  was  earlier  and  more  completely  buried 
and  protected  by  debris.  SuflScient  fragments 
have   been   found   to   furnish   materials   for    the 

"»  Eodem  anno,  seu  motu  terrae  seu  qua  vi  alia,  forum  medium  ferme 
specu  vasto  collapsum  in  immensam  altitudinem  dicitur.     Liv.  vii.  6. 

9  Eadem  fortuito  satu  vivit  in  medio  foro.  Tiin.  N.  H.  xv.  20. 
(Note  162).  So  to  ^daov  t^q  ayopac,  DIo  Cass.  Ixiii.  4.  (Note  228)  ; 
tri  rnQ  ayopac:  ft^ff/jt',  Herodian.  ii.  9.  (Note  170);  and,  perhaps, 
in  medio  foro,  Hor.  Sat.  i.  4,  74. 


BASILICA  JULIA. 


43 


••■f 


n 


restoration  of  one  of  the  piers  upon  the  facade  chap,  ii. 
towards  the  Forum;  and  the  positions  supposed 
to  have  been  occupied  by  the  other  piers  are  now 
marked  by  modern  l)rickwork.    The  restored  pier 
has  on  its  face  a  half-column  of  the  Tuscan  order. 

This  magnificent  monument  has  been  recognised  its  identi- 
by  universal  consent  as  the  Basilica  Julia.  Its 
identity  is  proved  not  only  by  the  character  of  the 
building  but  by  the  evidence  of  the  Ancyran  in- 
scription, which  places  that  basilica  ])etween  the 
Temples  of  Castor  and  Saturn, ^**^  and  by  the  frag- 
ments of  the  Capitoline  Plan,  which  indicate  the 
situation  of  the  basilica  in  relation  to  the  two 
temples.^  An  inscription  recording  the  dedica- 
tion, about  the  end  of  the  second  century,  of  a 
statue  as  an  ornament  to  the  Basilica  Julia,  then 
recently  repaired,  was  discovered  near  the  column 
of  Phocas,  in  the  vicinity  of  this  building.^ 

The  Basilica  Julia  was  be2:un  by  Julius  and  History  of 

^  ^  ^        ^      theBasi- 

finished  l)v  AuiJrustus,  who  afterwards  rebuilt  it  HcaJuiia. 
on  a  more  extensive  site  after  the  destruction  by 

100  FORVM  IVLIVM  ET  BASILICAM  QVAE  FVIT  INTER  .  AEDEM  . 
CA8TORIS  .  ET  .  AEDEM  .  SATVRM  .  COEPTA  .  PROFLIGATAQVE  .  OPERA  . 
A  .  PATRE  .  MEO  .  PERFECI  .  ET  .  EANDEM  .  BASILICAM  .  CONSVMPTAM  . 
INCENDIO  .  AMPLIATO  .  EIVS  .  SOLO  .  SVB  .  TITVLO  .  NOMINIS  . 
FILIORVM  .  [mEORVm]   .  IXCOHAVI  .  ET  .  SI  .  VIVVS  .  NON  .  PERFECISSEM  . 

PERFici  .  AB  .  HEREDiBiJS  .  [meis  .  ivssi].     Mon.  Ancyr.  ed.  Momm- 
sen,  p.  56. 

•    See  before,  p.  26. 

2  GABINIVS  .  VETTIVS  .  PROBIANVS  .  V.C  .  PRAEF  .  VRB  .  STATVAM  . 
QVAE  .  BASILICAE  .  IVLIAE  .  A  .  SE  .  NOVITER  .  REPARATAE  .  ORNA- 
MENTO  .  ESSET  .  ADIECIT  .  DEDIC  .  XV  .  KAL  .  FEBRVARl  .... 
PVBLICORVM   .  CORNELIO    .    ANXVLINO  .  II    .    ET    .     AVFID    .    FK*»\TON"E    - 


44 


THE  ROMAN  FORUM. 


ciiAi'.  II.  fire  of  the  first  building.  The  honour  of  this 
restoration  was  attributed  by  the  eni])eror  to  his 
o-randsons  and  adojited  sons,  Lucius  and  Caius, 
and  the  basilica  accordingly  appears  to  have 
l)een  known  for  a  time  by  their  names.^"^  Dio 
places  its  dedication  during  the  consulate  of 
Germanicus  B.C.  12,  in  the  second  year  before 
Augustus's  death,  but  it  is  mentioned  as  unfi- 
nished in  the  Ancyran  monument,  which  belongs 
to  his  last  year.*  It  was  repaired,  as  we  have 
seen,  at  the  end  of  the  second  century,  and  under- 
went subsequent  restoration  in  the  reign  of 
Diocletian;^  l)ut  the  architectural  features  of 
the  building  of  Augustus  appear  to  have  been 
preserved,  as  may  be  seen  by  comparing  the 
restored  pier  and  Tuscan  half-column  with  the 
representations  of  the  building  upon  the  monu- 
ment of  Trajan  hereafter  described,  and  upon  the 


cos  .  Gruter,  Inscrip.  clxxi.  7 ;  Panvinius,  Antiq.  Urb.  Imago, 
Gruevius,  vol.  iii.  p.  300.  This  inscription  was  found  and  copied  in 
the  sixteenth  century,  and  has  since  been  re-discovered  in  a  much 
less  perfect  state.  Bull,  del  Instit.  Arch,  di  Roma,  Mar  20,  1835. 
As  to  the  place  of  discovery,  see  Becker,  Handbuch,  i.  341,  note  631. 

'*'  Monumentum  Ancyranum.     (Note  100.) 

Quaedam  etiam  opera  sub  nomine  alieno,  nepotum  scilicet  et 
uxoris  sororisque,  fecit,  ut  porticum  basilicanique  Gai  et  Luci,  item 
portions  Liviae  et  Octaviae,  theatrumque  Marcelli.    Sueton.  Aug.  29. 

*  "H  re  (TTod  t)  Aiovia  [loi'Xt'a]  KaXovfitVij  <{iKocofii)9r]  re  eg  Tifiijv  tov  re 
Va'wv  Ktti  TOV  AovKiov  riov  Katffapujv,,  Kai  tots  KaOiepioGi].   Dio  Cass.  Ivi.  27. 

The  lustrum  solemnized  tluring  the  consulate  of  Fompeius  and 
Appuleius,  who  were  consuls  when  Augustus  died,  is  mentioned  in 
the  Ancyran  Monument. 

^  Catal.  imp.  Vienn.  t.  ii.  p.  247.    (Becker,  Ilandb    vol.  i.  p.  342.) 


BASILICA  JULIA. 


45 


bas-relief  on  the  arch  of  Constantine,  which  has  chap.  ii. 
been  alreadv  mentioned. 

The  Basilica  Julia  was  the  place  of  meeting  of  Use  of  the 

liasilica. 

the  Centumviri,  a  court  which  had,  in  the  time 
of  the  younger  Pliny,  who  practised  before  it, 
not  less  than  a  hundred  and  eighty  yx^c/^c^^,  sitting 
in  four  separate  consilia.  The  four  trlhunalia 
were  not  in  separate  rooms,  but  within  sight  and 
hearing  of  one  another,  like  the  old  courts  in 
Westminster  Hall.  The  area  of  the  basilica  also 
accommodated  a  large  audience,  which  in  Pliny's 
time  was  too  much  accustomed  to  applaud  the 
advocates.  The  upper  gallery  afforded  additional 
room,  whence  at  an  interesting  trial  the  proceed- 
ings might  be  seen,  if  they  could  not  be  heard. ^"' 

Jam  clamor,  centumqiie  viri,  densumque  coronae 
Vnlgus,  et  infanti  lulia  tecta  placent.^ 

The  Basilica  Julia  is  mentioned  by  Dio  as  one 
of  the  places  in  which  the  Emperor  Trajan  sat  to 
administer  justice." 

'0'  Cum  (Trachalus)  in  basilica  lulia  diceret  primo  tribunali? 
quatuor  autem  indicia,  ut  moris  est,  cogerentur,  atque  omnia  clamo- 
ribus  fremerent,  et  auditum  eum  et  intellectum,  et,  quod  agentibus 
caeteris  contumeliosissimum  fuit,  laudatum  quoque  ex  quatuor  tri- 
bunalibus,  memini.     Quintil.  Inst.  Or.  xii.  5. 

Sedebanl  indices  centum  et  octoginta,  tot  enim  quatuor  consiliis 
colliguntur :  ingens  utrinque  advocatio  et  numerosa  subsellia;  prae- 
terea  densa  circumstantium  corona,  latissimum  iudicium  {qu.  indi- 
cium), multiplici  circulo  ambibat.  Ad  hoc  stipatum  tribunal,  atque 
etiam  ex  superiore  basilicae  parte,  qua  feminae  qua  viri,  et  audiendi, 
quod  erat  difficile,  et,  quod  facile,  visendi  studio  imminebant.  Plin. 
Epist.  vi.  33.     lb.  ii.  14,  v.  21. 

«  Martial,  Ep.  vi.  38,  5. 

"  Tort  ^itv  fv  Ty  dyop<f   ror  ' Avyovarov,  Tort   ^t  iv  Ty  nro^  tij  '\ov\ia 


46 


THE  ROMAN  FORUM. 


VICUS  TUSCUS. 


CHAP.  n. 


Streets 
adjoining 
the  Basi- 
lica. 


Suetonius,  among  his  instances  of  Caligula  s 
prodigality,  describes  that  emperor  as  mountmg 
on  the  parapet  or  roof  of  the  Basilica  .Julia  and 
throwing  day  after  day  coins  to  a  large  amount 
among:  the  people."" 

The  Basilica  Julia   was  surrounded   on  three 
sides  at  least  hy  streets.      The  Vicus  .luganus, 
which  has  been  already  described,   was   on   its 
western  side  towards  the  Temple  of  Saturn  and 
the   Capitol.     On  the   opposite   or  eastern   side 
another    ancient    street    has  been   recently   im- 
covered,  to  which  we  shall  presently  return.     On 
Sacra  Via.  the   northern   side  ran  the   great   street,  which 
entered  the  Forum  at  its  eastern  corner  near  the 
Temple  of  Faustina,  and  after  crossing  it  in  the 
manner  we  shall  hereafter  describe,  and  passing 
in  front  of  the  basilica,  swept  round  the  base  of 
the  Temple  of  Saturn  and  ascended  the  Capitol 
by  the  Clivus  Capitolinus.     This   street   was  a 
part  of  the  Sacra  Via  in  the  larger  acceptation  of 
the  term,  which  included  its  whole  course  from 
the  Carinae  to  the  Capitol,  though  the  name  was 
usually  reserved  for  the  slope  between  the  Tem- 
ple of  Venus  and  Rome  and  the  commencement 

of  the  Forum.  ^ 

Opposite    the  basilica,   but   not  far   from   its 


Arch  of 
Tiberius. 


dtvofiaafi^vy,   TToXXdKig  ^e   Kai   dWoOi,   tKpiKev  eTri   (infiarog.      Dio  Cass. 

Ixxxviii.  10. 

"0  Quin  et   nummos   non   mediocris  summae   e   fastisio  basilicae 

luliae  per  aliquot  dies  sparsit  in  plebem.     Sueton.  Calig.  37. 

»  See  Chapter  VIII.  on  the  Sacra  Via. 


narrowing 


47 


of  the   ancient  chap.  ii. 


Tuscus. 


southern     corner,    a 

roadway  just  before  it  passes  under  the  modern 
road  marks  the  probable  site  of  the  arch,  which, 
as  we  learn  from  Tacitus,  was  erected  a.d.  17, 
near  the  Temple  of  Saturn,  to  commemorate  the 
recovery  by  Germanicus,  under  the  auspices  of 
Tiberius,  of  the  standards  which  had  been  lost 
with  Varus  in  his  defeat  by  the  Germans  under 
Arminius.^^^  This  arch  appears  towards  the  left 
in  the  bas-relief,  already  mentioned,  represent- 
ing the  Emperor  Constantine  in  the  Formii.^ 

The  ancient  street  that  has  been  uncovered  at  vicus 
the  eastern  end  of  the  Basilica  Julia  is  identified 
beyond  dispute  as  the  Vicus  Tuscus,  wliich  is 
know  n  to  have  led  from  the  Forum  to  the  Vela- 
brum  and  Circus  Maximus.^  This  street  vies  with 
the  Sacred  Way  both  in  its  frequent  mention  by 
ancient  winters  and  in  its  religious  character, 
being  the  route  taken  by  the  great  procession  on 

"=  Fine  anni  arcus  propter  aedem  Batumi,  ob  recepta  signa  cum 
Varo  amissa  ductu  Germanici  auspiciis  Tiberii,  (dicatur).  Tacit. 
Annal.  ii.  41. 

3  See  p.  21. 

*  Tuscus  dicitur  vicus  quo  itur  Velabrum,  ubi  ....  unguentarii 
consistunt.    Porphyrio,  Hor.  Sat.  ii.  3,  228.    Liv.  xxvii.  37.  (Note  83). 

Olc  (roTc  fiiTa  Uopaivov  Tvpprivolg)  tdwKtv  ?/  fiovXi)  x*>^pf^v  '"'/C  TroXewg, 
tvOa  o'lKiav  tp.kXXov  KaraaKtvaaaaQai^  tov  p,tTa^v  tov  te  UaXariov  Kai  tov 
KairiTujXiov  Ttrapm  fidXiffra  fii]Kvv6p.evov  (TTadioit;  avXwva,  og  Kai  fitXP^^ 
tuov  Tvppt]vCjv  o'lKTjmg  inro  'Pwfiaiujv  KaXfUrai  Kara  Tt)v  Imxiopiov  cioXek' 
TOV,  y)  (pipovffa  ^ioCog  dnb  Ttjg  dyopdg  tiri  tov  p.kyav  'nnroSpofiov. 
Diouys.  V.  36.     Cic.  Verr.  Actio  II.  i.  59.    (Note  116.) 

The  locality  of  the  Velabrum  is  still  marked  by  the  Church  of 
S.  Giorgio  in  Velabro. 


48 


THE  KOMAN  FOKUM. 


Derivation 
of  the 
name. 


CHAP.  II.  the  occasion  of  the  Liidi  Romani,  in  which  the 
statues  of  the  gods  were  carried,  in  cars  called 
theyisae,  from  the  Capitol  through  the  Forum  to 
the  Circus."^  Among  the  charges  brought  by 
Cicero  against  Verres,  as  Praetor  Urbanus,  is  that 
of  liaving  maintained  this  street,  by  which  the 
procession  of  the  gods  was  conducted,  in  such  a 
condition  that  he  himself  did  not  venture  to  use  it.^ 
The  tradition  which  derived  the  name  of  the 
street  from  Tuscan  settlers  is  variously  given 
by  different  authors.  According  to  Yarro,  the 
followers  of  Caeles  Vibenna,  an  Etruscan  chief 
who  came  to  the  assistance  of  Romulus,  were 
first  settled  on  the  Caelian  hill,  and  then  for 
security  removed  to  the  lower  ground,  which  be- 
came the  Yicus  Tuscus.'  Tacitus  records  a  tra- 
dition   varying   but    slightly    from   tliis,^    and   a 

"5  Dionys.  vii.  72  ;  Cic.  Verr.  Actio  II.  i.  59  ;  Ovid.  Amor.  iii.  2, 
43-60;  Liv.  ix.40. 

*  Quis  a  signo  Vertunini  in  Circum  Maximum  venit  quin  is  in  uno 
quoque  gradu  de  avaritia  tua  comraoneretur  ?  qiiam  tu  viam  then- 
sarum  atqiie  pompac  eiusmodi  exegisti,  ut  tu  ipse  ilia  ire  non 
audeas.     Cic.  Verr.  Actio  II.  i.  59 ;  ib.  iii.  3  ;  v.  72. 

'  In  Suburanae  regionis  parte  princeps  est  Caeiius  mons  a  Caelio 
Vibenna  Tusco  duce  nobili,  qui  cum  sua  manu  dicitur  Romulo 
venisse  auxilio  contra  Latinum  regem ;  hinc  post  Caelii  mortem, 
quod  nimis  munita  loca  tenerent,  neque  sine  suspicione  essent, 
deducti  dicuntur  in  planum.  Ab  eis  dictus  vicus  Tuscus,  et  ideo  ibi 
Vertumnum  stare,  quod  is  deus  Etruriae  princeps.  Varro,  L.  L.  v. 
8(14). 

»  Caelium  adpellitatum  a  Caele  Vibenna,  qui  dux  gentis  Etruscae, 
cum  aux ilium  adpellatum  ductavisset,  sedem  earn  acceperat  a  Tar- 
quinio  Frisco ;  seu  quis  alius  regum  dedit,  nam  scriptores  in  eo 
dissentiunt.     Cetera  non  ambigua  sunt,  magnas  eas  copias  per  plana 


I 


VICUS  TURARIUS. 


49 


similar  storv  with  a  chano-e  in  the  name  of  the  chap.  ii. 
Tuscan  captain  is  lianded   down  by  Propertius, 
in  whose  verse  the  god  Vertumnus   is  made  to 
sav  : 

Et  til,  Roma,  meis  tribiiisti  pracmia  Tiiscis, 

Unde  liodie  victis  nomina  Tuscus  habet, 
Tempore  quo  sociis  venit  Lucumonius  armis 

Atqnc  Sabina  fori  contiulit  arm  a  Tati.^^^ 

Livy  and  Dionysius  derive  the  name  of  the 
street  from  a  Tuscan  colony,  which  had  formed 
part  of  the  army  of  Porsenna,  and,  having  been 
defeated  before  Aricia,  took  refuo-e  at  Rome.^*^ 

Beside  the  sacred  prestige  already  mentioned,  character 
the  Vicus  Tuscus  had  the  character  of  a  busy  Vitus 
tradesmen's  quarter.^  Horace  calls  its  dealers 
generally,  Tusci  turba  impia  vici,  without  per- 
haps meaning  much  against  their  character  ;  and 
it  is  probably  to  this  street  that  he  alludes  as  the 
place  to  which  the  works  of  neglected  poets  were 
carried  to  wrn]i  up  parcels  of  spice  or  perfume. 

Deferar  in  vicum  vendentem  tus  et  odores 
Et  piper  et  qnidquid  chartis  amieitnr  ineptis.* 

It   seems  that   the   street  was  in    later   times  J^^^"^. 

1  uniruis. 

etiam  ac  foro  propinqua  babitasse,  unde  Tuscum  vicum  e  vocabulo 
advenarum  dictum.     Tacit.  Annal.  iv.  65. 

"»  Propert.  Eleg.  iv.  2,  49. 

^  Multos  Komae  hospitum  urbisque  caritas  tenuit.  His  locus  ad 
habitandum  datus,  quem  deinde  Tuscum  vicum  appcllarunt.  Liv. 
ii.  14.     Dionys  v.  36  (Note  114). 

•  Nee  nisi  prima  velit  de  Tusco  serica  vico.  IMar.tial.  Epitr.  xi. 
27,  11. 

'^  Hor.  Epist.  ii.  1,  269.  See  also  Sat.  ii.  .3,  228;  Porphyrio,  ib. 
(Note  114). 

E 


iiilliliiiMiMiaimriiiiiiiilM^^ 


50 


THE  ROMAX  FOKUM. 


Statue  of 
Vertuni- 
nus  at  the 
conuT  of" 
the  Basi- 
lica Julia. 


CHAP.  ji.  Ccalled  Jlcffs  Turarius,  ajipnrently  from  tlio  sj^ice- 
sliops  tliere.^^'^  In  the  time  of  riautus  the  \'iciis 
Tiiscus  and  its  neigh1)ourliood  ])ehind  the  Tem])le 
of  Castor  had  a  ])ad  reputation  as  the  haunt  of 
rogues  and  infamous  persons,  and  Seneca  has  an 
alhision  to  a  traffic  in  shives  which  was  carried 
on  ad  Cantoris,  where  the  shops  were  filled  with 
shaves  of  the  w^orsc  character.* 

Cicero  describes  the  processional  street  as  lead- 
ing to  the  Circus  ilaximus  from  the  statue  of 
\"ertumnus,  and  one  of  his  commentators  tells 
us  that  this  statue  was  at  the  end  of  the  Vicus 
Turarius,  under  the  corner  of  the  basilica.  Varro 
also  places  it  at  the  Yicus  Tuscus.'  The  statue 
is  alluded  to  by  Ovid  as  being  in  sight  on  entering 
the  Forum  bv  the  road  communicating:  with  the 
Nova  Via/'  and  Propertius  has  devoted  an  elegy 

'-^  Signum  Vertumni  in  ultimo  vico  Turario  est,  sub  basilicae 
angulo  ilectentibus  se  ad  postremam  liexteraiu  ])artem.  Pseudo- 
Asconius  in  Cic.  Verr.  II.  i.  59. 

Tusci  alicjuando  ab  Aricinis  pulsi  contulere  se  llomam,  et  vicuui 
qui  modo  Turarius  dicitur  iiisederunt.  Schol.  Cruq.  Hor.  Sat.  ii.  3, 
228. 

*  Piaut.  Curcul.  iv.  1  (Note  97). 

Qui  ad  Castoris  negotiantur  iiequam  maneipia  enientes  veudentes- 
que,  quorum  tabernae  pessimorum  scrvoium  turba  refertae  sunt. 
Seneca,  de  constantia  ba[)ientis,  13. 

'  Notes  IIG,  117,  and  123. 

"  Forte  revertebar  f'estis  Vestalibus  iliac 

Qua  Nova  Komnno  nunc  via  iuncta  foro  est. 

*  *  ♦  ♦  - 

Nondum  conveniens  diversis  iste  fiiruris 

Xomen  ab  averso  ceperat  amne  deus, 

Ovid,  Fast.  vi.  395,  409. 
See  Chapter  IX.  on  the  Nova  Via. 


STATUE  OF  VERTUMXUS. 


51 


I 


to  the  honour  of  Vertumnus,  from  whicli  it 
appears  that  this  deity  looked  into  tlie  Forum, 
witli  the  toga'd  crowd  jmssing  before  his  feet.^^^ 

A  ruined  pedestal,  measuring  about  ten  feet  by 
eight,  has  lately  been  uncovered  on  the  steps  at 
the  nortli-east  corner  of  the  basilica.  It  seems 
pro])able  that  we  have  here  the  remains  of  the 
pedestal  of  Vertumnus. 

Livy  informs  us  that,  for  the  site  of  the  Basilica 
Sempronia,  erected  b.c.  1G9,  (hu'ing  the  censor- 
ship of  Tib.  Sempronius  Gracchus,  the  father  of 
the  tri])unes,  Sempronius  purchased  the  house  of 
Scipio  Africanus,  which  stood  beliind  the  Veteres 
at  the  image  of  Vertumnus,  with  some  butchers' 
stalls  and  shops  adjoining.  It  ajipears  therefore 
that  this  earlier  basilica  furnislied  part  of  the  site 
of  the  more  magnificent  Basilica  Julia.^ 

Tlie  Veteres  mentioned  by  Livy  in  the  passage 
just  cited  were  some  of  the  tahernae,  or  sliops,  of 
the  Foruin,  the  history  and  position  of  which  it 
may  l)e  convenient  to  consider  in  this  place.  The 
origin  of  the  Tabernae  is  attributed  ])v  Livv   to 


CHAP.  II. 


Remains 
of  the 
pedestal  of 
Vertum- 
nus. 


Basilica 
Sempro- 


nia. 


Mouse  of 
Scipio. 


Tiihcrnae 
of  tlio 
Forum. 


'^  Ilaec  me  turba  iuvat,  nee  templo  laetor  ebnrno, 

Komanum  satis  est  posse  videre  forum. 

*  ♦  *  * 

Sed  facia.s,  divum  sator,  ut  Romana  per  aevum 
Transcat  ante  meos  turba  togata  pedes. 

Propert.  iv.  2.  5,  b^i. 
"  Ti.   Sempronius,  ex  ea  pecunia  quae  ei  attributa  est,    aedes  P. 
Africani  pone  W^teres  ad  Vertumni  signum  lanienasque  et  tabernas 
in  publicum  emit,  basilicamque  faciendam  curavit.  quae  postea  Sem 
pronia  appelbita  est.     Li  v.  xliv.  Ifi. 

E  2 


TABERNAE  OF  THE  FORUM. 


53 


52 


THE  ROMAN  FORUM. 


CHAP.  11.  King  Tarqiiinius  Priscus,  in  whose  reign  some  of 
the  irroimd  about  the  Forum  was  divided  among 
private  persons, and  the  covered  galleries  and  shops 
were    constructed.      These    buildings,    however, 
appear  to  have  been  pul)lic  property,  since  they 
were  rebuilt  by  the   censors.^^^      The    shops    in 
early  times  were  naturally  those  required  for  the 
trades  generally  carried  on    in   a   market-place. 
.  Hence  the  butchers'  stalls,  replaced  as  w^e  have  seen 
by   the   Basilica   Sempronia  ;    and  the  butchers' 
stall  at  the  Tabernae  afterwards   called  Novae, 
from  which  Virginius  took  the  knife  to  stab  his 
daughter.^*^  The  schools  for  children  were,  accord- 
ing to  the  same  story,  also  among  the  shops  of 
the  Forum  ;  and  it  was  there  that  Appius  Clau- 
dius had   first  seen   Virginia  reading.  ^     As  the 
dignity  of  the  locality  increased,  the  more  ordi- 
nary trades  disappeared  from  the  Forum,  and  the 
shops  that  remained  were  occupied  hy  dealers  in 
the  precious  metals,  silversmiths,  moneychangers, 

'29  Ab  eodem  rege  et  circa  forum  priviitis  aedificanda  divisa  sunt 
loca;  porticus  tabcrnaeque  factae.  Liv.  i.  35.  lb.  xxvii.  11.  (Note 
136.) 

Ti)v  r€  ayopdv  tv  y  SiKa^ovai  /cat  tKK\ij<Jid'Cov<Ti  Kai  rag  dWag  tiriTeXovat 
iroXiTiKug  Trpd^eig^  tKsivog  tKufTfiijaev  IpyaoTiipioig  rf  Kai  Tolg  dXKoig  KufTfiotg 
TrepiXaiSujv.     DIonys.  iii.  67. 

30  Data  venia  seducit  filiam  ac  nutricem  prope  Cloaclnae  ad 
tabernas  quibus  nunc  novis  est  nomen,  atque  ibi  ab  lanio  cultio 
abrepto,  .  .  .  pectus  deinde  pucllae  transfigit.     Liv.  iii.  48. 

'  Virglni  venienti  in  lorum,  ibi  namque  in  tabernis  literarum  ludi 
erant,  minister  decemviri  libidinis  manum  iniecit.     Liv.  iii.  44. 

TavTtjv  Ti)v  Kopijv  tiriyafiov  omav  ij^r)  Oeaadfitvog  'Airwiog  KXavSiog  6 
Ttjg  ceKupxiag  i}yifiwv  dvayivuKTKOvaav  tv  ypai-ifianKou'  y)v  de  Ta  h^aaKa- 
Xkla  tCjv  Traidiov  tote  irepi  r»)v  dyopuV  tvOvg  Tt  vttu  tov  KaXXvvg  r/jg 
Traidog  iciXw,  ktX.     Dionys.  xi.  28. 


I 


) 


and  usurers.     Hence  the  name  tabernae  argen-  chap.ii. 

iariae  appears  to  have  applied,  as  a  description,  to 

all  the  shops  of  the  Forum.'"'    It  was  also  given,  as 

will  be  seen,  as  a  distinctive  name  to  those  on  the 

north  side.     On  occasions  of  festivity,  especially  ^^^[^^^^«_^ 

dmnno;  the   Ludi  Romani,  when  the  great  Cir-  ixrnacat 

o  •        1         -n  iestivals. 

censian  procession  passed  through  it,  the  1^  orum 
was  decorated  by  the  Aediles,  a  custom  which, 
according  to  Livy,  originated  upon  the  triumph  of 
L.  Papirius,  dictator,  B.C.  308,  when  the  gilt  shields 
of  the  conquered  Samnites  were  distributed  among 
the  owners  of  the  arcjentariae  for  this  purpose.^ 
Hannibal  is  said  to  have  put  up  for  sale  the 
tabernae  argentariae  which  were  around  the 
Forum  of  Rome.  ^ 

The  Tabernae  appear  to  have  consisted  of  two  Jwo  ^'^^^ 
rows  of  shops  ranged  along  the  two  longer  sides  ^«^- 
of  the  Mid  Forum.     At  the  time  of  the  gi'eat  fire 
in  the  Forum,  B.C.  210,  which  destroyed  all  the 

>32  Hoc  intervallo  primum  forensis  dignitas  crevit,  atque  ex  tabernis 
lanienis  argentariae  factae.  Varro  in  Nonio,  p.  532,  M.  p.  364. 
Gerl.  (Becker,  Ilandbuch,  i.  295). 

Ut  comitia  edicat  de  rostris,  et  argentarii  tabernas  occludant. 
Varro.  L.  L.  vi.  9  (75). 

3  Tantum  magnilicentiae  visum  in  iis,  ut  aurata  scuta  dominis 
argentariarum  ad  forum  ornandum  dividerentur.  Inde  natum  initium 
dicitur  fori  ornandi  ab  aedilibus  quum  tensae  ducerentur.    Liv.  ix.  40. 

Ludis  ipsis  Ilomanis,  foro  ornato.     Cic.  in  Verr.  Actio  II.  i.  54. 

The  closing  of  the  tabernae  was  a  principal  mark  of  public 
mourning.  Tabernae  circa  forum  chiusae,  iustitiumque  in  foro  sua 
sponte  coeptum  prius  quam  indictum.  Liv.  ix.  7.  lb.  iii.  27;  iv.  31. 
Cic.  p.  dom.  sua,  2L  They  were  also  closed  when  the  Comitia  were 
hold.     Varro,  L.  L  vi.  9  (Note  132). 

*  Ut  extemplo  (Hannibal)  vocato  praecone  tabernas  argentarias, 
fiuae  circa  forum  Romanum  tunc  essent,  iusserit  venire.    Liv.  xxvi.  11. 


54 


THE  KOMAN  FORUM. 


TABERNAE  OF  THE  FORUM. 


55 


u 


Sei)tein 
Tahornae 

Arj^en- 
tariae  ; 


I'leheiae 


Xov{ 


Vc  teres. 


CHAP.  H.  shops,  as  well  as  the  Atrium  Regiuni,  and  threat- 
ened the  temple  of  Vesta,  the  shops  on  one  side 
appear  to  have  been  called  Septem  Tabernae,  and 
those  on  the  other  Argentariae.^^^  The  former  were 
rebuilt  hy  the  censors  in  the  followino:  vear,  to- 
gether  with  the  Atrium  Regium  f  the  latter  were 
re])uilt  a  few  years  later  by  the  Plebeian  Aediles, 
and  were  sometimes  called  tiie  Plebeian  Tabernae. 
Their  more  usual  name  in  later  times  was  Novae, 
while  the  seven  shops  which  had  been  previously 
rebuilt  were  called  Veteres.'     From  these  names 

suNVeto-    the  two  sides  of  the  Forum   came  to  be  distin- 

rii)ns: 

Sub  Novis.  guished  as  Sul)  Veteribus  and  Sub  Xovis.^ 

'3^  Eodem  tempore  septem  tabernae,  quae  postea  quinque  [an. 
veteres],  et  argentariae,  ([uae  nunc  novae  appellantur,  arsere.  Coni- 
prehensa  postea  privata  aedificia;  neque  enim  tuni  basilicae  erant. 
Compreliensae  lautumiae  fbrumque  piscatorium  et  atrium  refnum. 
Aedes  Vestae  vix  defensa  est  tredecem  servorum  maxime  openi,  (iiii 
in  publicum  redempti  ac  manumissi  sunt.  Liv.  xxvi.  -27.  It  has 
been  well  conjectured  that  the  rending  quimjue  arose  from  the  first 
letter  of  vet.  for  veteres,  the  two  other  letters  being  rejected  as  a 
reduplication  of  the  following  et.  The  change  of  expression,  quae 
postea,  quae  nunc,  lends  some  probability  to  the  supposition  that  the 
Veteres  Tabernae  did  not  survive  to  the  time  of  Livy.     See  p.  58. 

«  Locaverunt  (censores)  inde  reHcienda  qu;ie  circa  forum  incendio 
consumpta  erant,  septem  tabernas,  macellum,  atrium  regium.  Liv. 
xxvii.  11. 

•  [Plebeias  tabernas  nojvas  vocant  nos[tra  aetate  ut  dicunt  V. 
tabernjas  esse,  et  septem  ferun[tur  olim  fuisse.  Plebeias  appellajmus 
a  genere  magistratus;  eas  enim  faciendas  curaverunt  M.  lunlus 
Brutus,  Q.  Oppius,  aediles.  Festus,  ed  Mull.  p.  230.  As  to  the 
date  of  these  magistrates,  compare  Liv.xxxiv.  1,  xxxv.  24,  xxxvi.  2, 
xxxvii.  5.5.  Readers  will  be  reminded  of  the  Procuratic  Vecchie  and 
Nuove  on  the  two  sides  of  the  Piazza  of  St.  Mark  at  Venice. 

*  Sub  novis  dicta  pars  in  foro  aedificiorum,  quod  vocabulum  ei  per- 
vetustum,  ut  Novae  viae,  (juae  via  iam  diu  vetus.     Varro,  vi.  7  ((j7). 


uu 


That  the  Xovac  and  Veteres  Tabernae  were  on  char  ii. 
opposite  sides  of  the  Forum,  the  former  on  the  ^'^JjJ^o" 
sunny,  the  latter  on  the  shadv  side,  is  shown  l)y  Vetcrcs 

•^  '  "   .  1  •  i.*         ''^"*^  Novae 

a  passage  of  Cicero,    where,    in    speakmg   ot   a  Tabcmue. 
[)hilosopher  having  changed  his  school,  the  author 
com])ares  him  to  the  strollers  who  were  driven 
by  the  heat  of  summer  from   the    sunshine  sub 
Novis  to  the  shade  of  the  Vetera  maeniuna}^''    The  Macuia 
exi^YQusiomnae  it  tenia  as  here  used  is  interpreted  by 
Festus,  who  states  that  the  censor  Maenius  first 
made  the  wooden  galleries  in  the  Forum  to  pro- 
ject beyond  the  i)illars  that  supi)orted  them,  so  as 
to   irive  UTcater  accommodation  for  viewing  the 
area  from  al)ove.^     Vitruvius,  picturing  an  ideal 
Forum,  advises  that  the  area  dedicated  to  spec- 
tacles should  be  surrounded  by   spacious  colon- 
nades,  and   in    the    porticoes   should    be   placed 
silversmiths'  shoi)S,  with  maeniana  on  the  upper 
Hoors.^     Aided  by  this  description  we  may  con- 
ceive the  tabernae  on  the  sunny  and  shady  sides 
of  the   Mid   Forum  as  low  shops  placed   behind 
a   colonnade,    surmounted   with    an   overhanging 

'«»  Et  uthi  qui  sub  novis  solera  non  ferunt,  item  ille  (luum  aestuaret 
veterunj,  ut  niaenianorum,  sic  xVcademicorum  umbram  secutus  est. 
Cic.  Acad.  Pr.  ii.  22. 

»  Maeniana  appellata  sunt  a  Maenio  censore,  (jui  primus  in  foro 
ultra  columiias  tigna  proiecit,  »pio  ampliarentur  superiora  spect:uMjla. 

Feat.  ed.  Miill.  p.  134. 

-  .V  maioribus  consuetudo  tradita  est,  gladiatoria  muucra  in  loro 
dari.  Igitur  circum  spectacula  spatiosiora  intercolumnia  distribu- 
antur,  circaque  in  porticibus  argentarine  tabernae,  mnenlaniKpie 
>uperioribus  ciKi.xationibus  cod'icentur.      Vitniv.  v.  1. 


i! 


56 


THE  ROMAN  FORUM. 


Paintiiifjjs 
oil  the 
Tabuniuo. 


CHAP.  II.  loggia,  or  gallery,  which  formed  a  sort  of  stand 
whence  the  processions  or  games  held  in  the  area 
below  could  be  viewed.  The  shops  were  dis- 
tinguished by  the  numeral  of  their  pillar.  Thus 
Catullus  indicates  a  shop  sub  Veterihus^  coni- 
mencino;  his  reckonins:  from  Castor : 

Salax  taberna,  vosque  contubernales 
A  pileatis  nona  fratribus  })ila.^"*'^ 

The  colonnades  and  galleries  were,  as  might 
be  expected  in  that  climate,  decorated  with 
paintings,  those  on  the  side  of  the  Veteres 
Tabernae  being  covered  with  the  works  of  Se- 
rapion,  who,  according  to  Pliny,  was  an  excel- 
lent painter  of  scenery,  but  not  of  figures.^  The 
porticoes  of  the  Tabernae  Novae,  or  the  galleries 
above  them,  appear  to  have  contained  a  picture 
})ainted  in  celebration  of  the  triumph  of  Marius 
over  the  Cimbri,  which  was  called  Marius's  Cim- 
brian  shield.  Among  the  figures  was  a  Gaul,  whose 
absurd  face  and  attitude  were  made  an  engine  of 
ridicule  by  C.  Caesar  Strabo  in  one  of  his  speeches 
delivered  in  the  Forum.  "  I  will  show  thee  what 
thou  art  like,"  said  he  to  his  opponent.  ''  What?" 
cried  the  other  ;  and  the  orator  pointed  with  his 
finger  at  the  picture  of  the  Gaul,  which  was  pro- 
nounced a  perfect  likeness.      The  same  story  is 

"^  Catull.  xxxvii.  1. 

*  Maeniana,  inquit  Varro,  omnia  operiebant  Serapionis  tabulae 
sub  veteribus.  Hie  scenas  optime  pinxit,  sed  bominem  pin«rere  non 
potuit.     Plin,  N.  H.  xxxv.  37. 

Ut  nieum  illud  in  Helvlum  Manciam :  lam  ostuiidam  cuiusmod 


TABERNAE  OF  THE  FORUM. 


57 


\ 


I 


told  of  the  orator  Crassus  by  Pliny,  who   shifts  chap.  ii. 

the  scene  from  the  Novae  to  the  Yeteres.  Another 

picture  in  the  Forum  represented  an  old  shepherd 

with  a  stafif',  as  to  which  the  story  was  told,  that 

a  barbarian  ambassador  was  asked  what  he  valued 

him  at,  and  replied  that  he  would  not  take  him  as 

a  gift,  even  if  he  were  real.^^^ 

The    descrii)tion    of   Livy,    which   places   the  site  ot  the 

/  .  Veteres 

house  of  Africanus  behind  the  Veteres  at  the  Tabernae. 
statue  of  Yertumnus,  compared  with  the  other 
evidence  which  fixes  this  statue  exactly  at  the 
corner  of  the  Yicus  Tuscus  and  Sacra  Yia,  appears 
to  forl^id  the  supposition  that  the  Tabernae  were 
on  the  same  side  of  the  latter  street  as  the  statue. 
And,  if  thev  were  coexistent  with  the  Basilica 
Julia  as  we  now  see  it,  there  would  be  no  room 
for  them  on  the  same  side  of  the  way.  It  seems 
probable  that  their  place  was  on  the  other  side  of 
the  Yia  Sacra,  between  that  street  and  the  open 
Forum,  where  we    now   find  seven  brick   piers  Seven 

piers  oppo- 

about  thirteen  feet  square,  which  have  been  suj)-  site  to  the 

r»  1  1      /»        1  Basilica 

posed  to  be  the  remains  or  pedestals  tor  large  Juiia. 

sis;  quum  ille,  Ostende  quaeso,  demonstravi  digito  pictum  Galium, 
in  Mariano  scuto  Cimbrico  sub  novis,  distortum  eiecta  lingua,  buccis 
fluentibus.  Risus  est  commotus ;  nihil  tarn  Manciae  simile  visum 
est.     Cicero,  de  Orat.  ii.  66. 

>"  Deinde  video  etin  foro  positas  (tabulas)  vulgo.  llincenim  ille 
Crassi  oratoris  lepos  ageniis  sub  veteribus,  quum  testis  compellatus 
instaret :  Die  ergo,  Crasse,  qualem  me  reris?  Talem,  incjuitjostendens 
in  tabula  pictum  inficetissime  Galium  exserentem  linguam.  In  foro 
fuit  et  ilia  pastoris  senis  cum  bacula,  de  (jua  Teutonorum  legatus 
respondit,  interrogatus  quanti  eum  aestimarct,  sibi  donari  nolle 
talem  vivu.n  verunupie.     Plin.  N.  11.  xxxv.  8. 


58 


THE  ROMAN  FORUM. 


Tabernae, 


li 


Diinitiou 
of  the 
Tubenuie. 


CHAP.  II.  works  of  sculpture.'^  The  Novae  Ta])ernae  occu- 
siteotthe  pied  a  similar  position  on  tlie  other  side  of  the 
open  I  ormn  hi  front  of  the  Basilica  Aemilia.  Both 
bnildings  were  doubtless  extremely  shallow:  an 
additional  reason  for  confining  their  use  to  dealers 
whose  wares  could  be  packed  in  a  small  compass. 
The  rows  of  goldsmiths' shops  on  each  side  of  the 
bridge  at  Florence,  over  one  of  which  the  o:allery 
which  unites  the  two  palaces  is  carried,  furnish 
an  example  of  similar  structures.  Enolish  readers 
may  perhaps  recall  the  Pantiles  at  Tunbridge 
Wells. 

The  Veteres  Tabernae  survived  the  ])uildino'  of 
the  Basilica  Sempronia,  and  were  extant  in  the 
time   of  Cicero.      The    Xovae    Tabernae    were 
standing    when    Livy    wrote.'      But    how    lon<'- 
either    continued   after   the    remodelling   of   the 
basilicas  and  the  other  great  improvements  of  the 
imperial  time  is  uncertain.     Most  of  the  Taber- 
nae  appear   to   have    been    burnt    down    shortly 
before  the  death  of  Agrippa,  n.c.  12;  and  we  may 
doubt  whether  what  was  then  destroyed  was  re- 
built.''    Pliny  speaks  of  Serapion's  pictures  on  tlie 
authority  of  Varro  :  the  anecdotes  which  he  tells 
of  i)ictures  in  the  Forum  do  not  ap|)ear  to  refer 

^  ^  '^"'  The  (]ut'sti()ii  may  occur  :  were  these  piers  connected  with  the 
Tabernae?  Looking  at  their  construction,  and  the  condition  of  the 
pavement  between  them,  i  judge  this  to  be  quite  improbable. 

•  Liv.  xxvi.  27.  (Xote  135.)  The  mention  of  them  by  Festus  as 
existing  buihlings  (Note  137)  is  probably  to  be  referred  to  his 
author,  Verrius,  who  was  a  coiitentporary  of  Livy. 

'  Dio  Cass.  Iv.  8.     (Xote  213.) 


m 


COLUMN  OF  PI  I  or  AS. 


59 


I 


-i 


to    existing    works;    and  we   have   seen   that  he  ciiaimi. 
places    sub    Veterihus  the    picture   of  the    Gaul 
which   Cicero    mentions   as  suh  Novis}'^      It    is 
not    impro])able    that    ])efbre   the    period   of   the 
Flavian    emperors    these    ])uildings,    which    can 
scarcely  have    been   suita])le  to  the    magnificent 
architecture  around  them,  were  removed,  and  the 
area  of  the  Mid  Forum  between  the   two  great 
basilicas   laid  entirely  open.     Plutarch's  account 
of  the  way   in  which   the   soldiers  who  attacked 
Galba  at  the  J.acus  Curtius  made  their  a])pearance 
out  of  the  Basilica  of  Paullus.  ami   Statins'   de- 
scription of  the  statue  of  Domitian  as  guarded  on 
each    flank    hy    the   two    basilicas,    confirm    this 
supposition.^ 

In  the  open  space  of  the  Mid   Forum,  near  its  Column  of 
north-western  end,  is  the  monument  of  Phocas,  ^  *"'''' 
consisting  of  a  Corinthian    column    which    long 
stood  with  its  ))ase  buried  in  the  Camj)o  Vaccinot 
and  was  taken  for  the  ruin  of  a  temple  or  other 

'«  See  before,  pp.56,57.  Becker  has  suggested  thatCrassus,speakin- 
sub  Veteribus,  might  i)oint  to  the  picture  .mb  Novis  (Handbuch,  i.  297)"^ 
but  this  appears  scarcely  probable,  when  we  consider  the  obj'ects  and 
persons  which  would  impede  the  view  across  the  Forum. 

•-'  'V.<paivovTo  wfrnnn,  IrrTTHr,  Ctra  oirXirai  cm  Tn<:  UavU,,  i^amXiKr,, 
7rfHm<p^fH,finw,,  fiuj  ^,ovy  filya  fioiljVT.r,  UttoCwp  'iaraixOai  ruv  icuornv 
Plut.  Galb.  26.  ■ 

At  laterum  passus  bine  lulia  tecta  tuentur 
mine  belligeri  sublimis  regia  Pauli.— Stat.  Silv.  i.  1,  29. 
We  may  suspect  that  there  was  at  one  time  a  single  tabenia  stand- 
ing alone  in  the  Forum,  as  Pliny  mentions  the  sudden  death  of  C. 
Servilius  Pansa,  rjunm  staret  in  foro  cul  kibeniam.     (Plin.  X.  II.  vii! 
54.)    The  date  of  this  event  is  uncertain. 


I 


GO 


THE  ROMAN  FORUM. 


MONUMENT  OF  TRAJAN. 


Gl 


Monunicnt 
of  Triijan. 


^1 


CHAP.  ir.  similar  building.  When  excavated  in  1813,  the 
column  was  found  to  stand  on  an  isolated  pedestal, 
mounted  upon  a  broad  square  base  forming  a 
flight  of  steps  on  every  side.  The  pedestal  bears 
an  inscription  which  shows  it  to  have  been  erected 
A.D.  G08  by  the  exarch  Smaragdus  in  honour  of 
the  infamous  emperor  Phocas.^^^ 

Near  the  eastern  corner  of  the  base  of  the 
column  of  Phocas  is  one  of  the  most  interesting 
monuments  which  have  been  brouo;ht  to  li2:ht  bv 
the  recent  excavations  in  Rome.  It  was  dis- 
covered in  September,  1872,  and  consists  of  two 
walls  of  white  marble,  sculptured  with  bas-reliefs 
on  both  sides,  and  surmounted  with  a  richlv- 
moulded  cornice.  The  sculptured  spaces,  when 
complete,  were  about  seventeen  feet  in  length, 
and  five  feet  and  a  half  in  height  ;  the  cornices 
about  one  foot  in  height.  Each  wall  is  formed  of 
several  pieces  of  marble  of  unequal  size  ;  and 
some  of  the  pieces  have  been  lost.  The  stone 
bases  on  which  they  had  been  mounted  were 
found  in  situ,  placed  parallel  to  each  otlier,  at  a 
distance  of  about  nine  feet,  and  upon  them  the 
marble  fragments,  which  had  been  more  or  less 
displaced,  have  been  put  together.  Thus  re- 
stored in  position,  they  form  a  double  screen 
with  an  intermediate  passage,  in  a  line  crossing 
the  open  area  of  the  Forum.  AVhy  the  monu- 
ment  was    constructed   in   this  form,  and    what 

Nibby,  Foro  Romano,  p.  164. 


IJO 


purpose  beyond  a  commemorative  object  it  chap.  ii. 
served,  it  is  difficult  to  determine.  It  seems 
possible,  when  we  look  at  the  sul)ject  of  the  sculp- 
tures, especially  the  sacrificial  animals,  that  it 
formed  a  sort  of  avenue  leading  to  an  altar  and 
statue  of  the  emperor  in  whose  honour  the  monu- 
ment may  have  been  erected  after  his  deifica- 
tion by  the  Senate.^^^ 

The  sculptures  on  the  two  interior  walls  repre-  sculptures 
sent  the  three  animals  used  in  sacrifice,  the  boar,  w"  ii"!""^ 
the  bull,  and  the  ram,  whose  names  were  com- 
bined to  form  the  title  of  the  great  lustral  cere- 
mony, Suovetaiirllla.  The  beasts  are  adorned 
with  ribbons  and  vlitae,  and  move  on  both  sculp- 
tures in  the  direction  of  the  Basilica  Julia. 

The  sculptures  on  the  outer  walls  of  the  screens  Sculptures 

,/»,.,.  on  outer 

present  a  far  greater  variety  and  interest,  consist-  walls. 
ing  of  a  number  of  human  figures  in  more  or  less 

'^'  Mr.  liurn,  in  an  appendix  to  his  admirable  work  on  Rome,  lias 
done  me  the  honour  to  notice  the  opinion  sug^a^sted  above,  which  I 
had  expressed  at  Rome,  but  asks  what  has  become  of  the  altar  and  its 
substructions,  some  trace  of  which  would  probably  remain.  I  answer, 
first,  that  near  the  end  of  the  passage  between  the  sculptures,  in  the 
direction  towards  which  the  sacrificial  animals  move,  there  are  traces 
on  the  pavement  of  some  structure  having  been  removed;  stcondiy,  that 
such  an  altar  would  naturully  be  condemned  to  destruction  in  the 
time  of  Christian  ascendency,  and  when  removed  would  be  removed 
entirely  with  its  substructions;  and  thirdly,  that,  if  not  removed 
before,  such  substructions  would  certainly  have  been  cleared  away 
at  the  time  of  the  erection  of  the  Phocas  column  close  by.  It  has 
been  suggested  that  the  existing  monument  formed  the  Septa  of  the 
Comitium.  But  there  is  no  reason  to  believe  that  the  Comitium  was 
here ;  and  it  is  not  likely  that  it  had  any  permanent  Septa.  See 
Chapter  IV. 


62 


THE  KOMAN  FOIIUM. 


2^^ 


--'^^      -^ 


cnAiMi.  Iiigli  relief;  about  half  life  size,  with  a  backo:roiind 
of  arehiteetural  and  other  ol^iects  indicatiriir  the 
locality  of  the  scenes  represented.  The  historical 
meanino;  of  these  reliefs  has  been  well  discussed 
in  two  learned  ])apers  by  Signor  Brizio  and  Pro- 
fessor Henzen  in  the  Proceedings  of  the  Roman 
Archaeological  Institute.'''  The  topographical 
significance  of  the  l)ackgrounds  has  not  received 
sufficient  attention  in  an}^  ]nd)lis}ied  work. 

The  screen  placed  nearer  to  the  Capitol  displays, 
to  the  right  of  the  spectator,  a  group  which  has 
furnished  a  key  to  the  probable  meaning  of  the 
entire  monument  by  its  resemblance  to  some  of 
the  medals  of  the  Emperor  Trajan.  These  medals 
represent  the  emperor  seated,  with  Italy  and  lier 
children    before   him,   and   bear  the  inscription  : 

'•^-  Annali   dell'  Instituto  di   Correspondenza  Arcbeologica,   1872 
p  309;  Bulletino  dell' Instituto.   1872,  p.  273.     I  have  Introduced 
the  above  cngravinrrs  to  make  my  description  more  easily  intelligible. 
The  enrichments  of  the  cornices  are  omitted.     For   study,  photo- 
graphs of  the  original  bas-reliefs  should  be  procured. 


Trajan 
with  Italy 
and  lior 
chiMrcn. 


If 


MONUMENT  OF  TRAJAN. 


03 


I 


l'\ 


,u-'       I 


ALIM  .  ITAL  .  S  .  1>  .  Q  .  U  .  OPTIMO  .  riUNCIPl.^^''    Thev    CHAP.  II. 

commemorate  the  provision  made  by  Trajan  for 
the  children  of  j)oor  or  deceased  citizens,  who  were 
called  pueri  et  puellae  alimentarii.      The  same 
figures  are  seen  in  the  l)as-relief.     The  torso  of  an 
infant  remains  on  the  left  arm  of  the  female  fio-nre 
and  another  child  probably  stood  under  her  right 
hand.     To  the  left  a  distinct  group  represents  a 
personage  standing  on  the  Rostra  and  addressing  Trajan 
a  crowd   of  persons,  who    evidently  receive  his  "^^^t^ 
words  with  pleasure  and  applause.     Fufortunately  ^^'"'''''• 
the  head  of  the  principal   figure  in   each  of  the 
groups  is    missing,   owing  to  its  having  been  in 
liigh  relief,  but  there  can  be  little  doubt  that  we 
have  here  an  allusion  to  some  other  ])ublic  act  of 
the  same  emperor. 

The  bas-relief  on  the  outer  side  of  the  other  Burning  of 
screen  rej)resents  a  single  event.     The  principal  booklf" 


'••'  Cohen,  vol.  ii.  303,  304,  30.5.  The  first  words  of  the  epigraph  in 
full  would  be  read  :   AJimnituni  IhiUnc. 


(U 


TIIK  ROMAN  FORUM. 


CHAP.  II.  figure  (of  which  the  upper  part  is  lost)  is  seated 
on  the  Rostra  to  the  right,  while  in  front  of  the 
Rostra  are  a  number  of  persons  carrying  parcels, 
looking  like  large  tablets  with  a  strap  or  band 
round  them,  to  a  heap  which  is  composed  of 
similar  materials.  Near  the  Rostra  are  some  of 
higher  rank,  who  merely  watch  tlie  proceedings, 
and  one  who  bends  towards  the  heap  with  his 
right  arm  extended,  as  if  to  touch  it  with  some- 
thing in  his  hand.  This  something,  having  been 
in  high  relief,  is  lost  ;  but  it  is  conjectured  that 
he  held  a  torch,  and  that  the  whole  scene  repre- 
sents the  burning  of  some  tablets  or  registers 
by  the  order  of  the  personage  seated  on  the 
Rostra.  It  is  recorded  by  Spartianus,  that  the 
Emperor  Hadrian,  when  he  remitted  some  large 
sums  which  w^ere  due  to  the  Fiscus,  caused  the 
evidences  of  the  obligation  to  be  burnt  in  the 
Forum  of  Trajan,  in  order  to  give  greater  assu- 
rance to  the  debtors.^^^  But,  if  the  other  events 
commemorated  by  the  monument  are  acts  of 
Trajan,  it  is  prol)able  that  this  act  is  also  his  ; 
and  it  will  be  shown  that  the  locality  indicated  by 
the  background  does  not  agree  with  that  men- 
tioned by  Spartianus.    There  is  evidence  of  a  like 

^^*  Infinitam  pccuniam  quae  fisco  debebatur  .  .  .  remisit,  syn- 
graphis  in  foro  divi  Traiani,  quo  iiiagis  securitas  omnibus  robora- 
retur,  incensis.     Spartian.  7. 

The  precedent,  had  been  set  by  Augustus.  Tabulas  veterum  aerari 
debitorum,  vel  praecipuam  calumniandi  materiam  exussit.  Sueton. 
Aug.  32. 


MONUMENT  OF  TRAJAN. 


65 


1 


remission  of  taxes  by  Trajan  ;^'^^  and  we  may  infer  chap.  ii. 
from  this  monument,  that  it  was  accompanied  by 
a  simihir  external  denu)nstration  in  another  j)ublic 
])lace.  The  ])recedent  of  Trajan  and  Hadrian 
was  followed  at  a  later  i)eriod  ])y  the  Emperor 
Gratianus,  whose  remission  of  tribute  was  ac- 
companied by  tlie  Imrning  of  the  evidences  in 
the  Fora  of  all  the  cities  benefited  bv  his  indul- 


gence. 


When  we  turn  to  the  l)acki>;rounds  of  the  two  i^-^^*^ 
bas-reliefs,  we  find  that  they  ))oth  represent  the  the  Forum, 
scene  tliat  was  in  reality  before  the  spectator,  the 
Forum  Romamun  ;  and  in  this  lies  the  im])ortant 
topographical  interest  of  the  sculj)tures. 

The  localitv  of  the  Burnino;  of  tlie  Registers  ^^^^*'^' 

^  ^  ground 

IS    most   easily    recognised,    and    may    be    con-  "^t'^e 

liurnnig 

veniently  taken  first.     In  the  foreground,  to  the  <^>t  the 

Rc^istcrs. 

left  of  the  spectator,  is  a  fig-tree,  and  next  it  a 
statue  on  a  pedestal.  In  the  background,  behind 
the  figures,  were  five  arches  of  a  building  divided 
by  piers  with  half-columns  or  ])ilasters  of  the 
Tuscan  order.  At  a  short  distance  from  the  end 
of  this  building  is  a  hexastyle  Ionic  portico  with 

135  y^.\  \\\m\  ununi  tuiusniodi  est  de  condonatis  residuis  tributorum? 
.  .  .  Fecerat  et  Traianus  olim,  sed,  partibus  retentls,  non  habebat 
t.intam  oblectationeni  concessi  debiti  portio  quanta  suberat  amaritudo 
&ervati.  Et  Antoninus  indulserat,  sed  imperii  non  beneficii  successor 
invidit,  (jui  ex  docuinentis  tabulisque  populi  condonata  repetivit. 
Tu  argunienta  omnia  Ihigitandi  publicitus  ardere  iussisti.  Videre  in 
suis  quaeque  foris  onines  civitates  conflagrationem  salubris  inc^ndii. 
Ausonii  Gratiarum  actio  ad  Gratianum,  21. 

^'  Ausonius,  1.  c. 


1 


66 


CHAP.  II. 


West  view 
of  the 
Forum. 


Rostra, 
statue,  and 
fig-tree 
in  fore- 
ground. 


Back- 
ground of 
Trajan 
and  Italv. 


tup:  ROMAN  FORUM. 

a  pediment.  Then,  after  a  short  interval,  through 
which  an  arch  is  seen  in  the  further  distance,  is 
another  hexastyle  portico  and  pediment  with 
Corinthian  columns.  A  part  of  the  bas-relief  to 
the  right  is  lost;  but  in  the  foreground  is  a  portion 
of  the  Rostra,  upon  which  the  emperor  was 
seated.  In  order  to  identify  the  scene  it  is  only 
necessary  for  the  spectator  to  turn  from  the 
sculpture  to  the  ruined  buildings  before  him.  In 
the  Corinthian  colunms  of  the  temple  of  Vespasian 
he  will  recoo^nise  the  remains  of  the  Corinthian 
portico,  in  the  portico  of  Saturn  the  Ionic  por- 
tico of  the  bas-relief.  The  arch  seen  in  the  dis- 
tance between  the  two  porticoes  would  probably 
be  a  part  of  the  loggia  of  the  Tabularimn.  The 
long  line  of  arches,  with  piers  between  them,  will 
be  found  in  the  Basilica  Julia  with  its  ornaments 
of  Tuscan  architecture.  The  whole  of  the  back- 
ground may  thus  be  explained  by  the  aid  of  the 
ruins  which  remain.  Of  the  objects  represented 
in  the  foreground  no  distinct  traces  are  now  to  be 
seen.  Thev  consist,  as  has  been  mentioned,  of  the 
Rostra  to  the  right  and  a  fig-tree  and  statue  to 
the  left. 

On  the  other  bas-relief,  which  is  more  perfect 
than  the  first,  the  same  statue  and  fig-tree  are 
seen  in  the  foreground  on  the  right,  and  next  to 
them,  behind  the  figures,  are  seven  arches  with 
intermediate  piers,  similar  to  those  of  the  first 
sculpture.    Then,  after  an  interval  of  some  width, 


A 


MONUMENT  OF  TRAJAN. 


67 


■x 


is  a  Corinthian  portico,  which  is  represented  as  chap.  ii. 
having  five  columns  ;  and  finally,  to  the  left,  an 
arch,  which  appears  nearer  to  the  spectator  than 
the  portico.     In  the  foreground  are  the  Rostra, 
from  which  the  emperor  is  speaking. 
It  will  be  observed  that  in  the  foreground  of  each  Relative 

,  ^  position  of 

sculpture  we  have  the  Rostra  on  one  side  and  the  objects  in 
statue  and  fig-tree  on  the  other,  l)ut  in  one  repre-  ground. 
sentation  the  Rostra  are  on  the  right,  in  the  other 
on  the  left.     In  the  two  scenes  the  spectator  is 
supposed  to  1)0  placed  on  diflferent  sides  of  the 
Rostra  ;  but  in  both  cases  the  statue  and  fig-tree 
are  seen  in  the  same  relative  position,  or  nearly 
so, — the  tree  to  the  left  of  the  statue.     In  order 
that  these  two  objects  vshould  l)e  so  seen  from  the 
right  and  left  of  the  Rostra,   we   must  suppose 
both  of  them  to  have  been  before  the  Rostra,  at 
about  equal  distances  from  it.     Thus,  though  the 
spectator  has  changed  his  position  from  one  side 
of  the  Rostra  to  the    other,   his    situation   with 
reference  to  the  statue  and  fig-tree  remains  nearly 
as  before;   and,  as   the  one  sculpture  ends  with 
those  objects  on  the  left,  and  the  other  begins 
with  them  on  the  right,  the  background  of  build- 
ings behind  these  two  objects  in  the  second  sculp- 
ture may  be  expected  to  begin  at  about  the  same 
point  where  it  terminated  in  the  first.     With  this 
clue  we  find  in  the  piers  and  arches  of  the  second  ^^^° 
bas-relief  a  continuation  of  the  long  colonnade  of 
the  Basilica  Julia.     In  the  wide  interval  to  the 

F  2 


South-east 
view  of  the 
m. 


68 


THE  ROMAN  FORUM. 


SOUTH-EAST  VIEW  OF  THE  FORUM. 


Julius, 


CHAP.  II.  left  of  the  basilica  the  portico  of  the  temple  of 
Castor  might  be  expected  to  be  seen;  but  the 
artist  has  not  thought  fit  to  introduce  this  monu- 
ment, possibly  because  hidden  from  the  Rostra 

I'enipieot  ]3V  gouie  nearer  objects.  In  the  i^ortico  ^\ith  the 
Corinthian  columns  we  may  recognise  the  Temple 
of  Divus  Julius,  the  podium  of  which  has  been 
recently  excavated,  and  which  is  represented  in 
medals  of  Augustus  and  of  Hadrian  with  a 
tetrastyle  Corinthian  portico.  The  five  colunms 
mav  be  assumed  to  be  a  mistake,  as  this  form  of 
portico  is  unknown.  The  arch  behind  the  Rostra 
was  probably  that  of  Augustus,  of  which  we  have 


A  roll  of 
Augustus 


(' 


'A 

H 

O 

n 

25 

O 

s 

H 

X 


X 


"""     •■! 


MONUMENT  OF  TRAJAN. 


69 


h 


WEST  VIEW  OF  THE  FORUM. 


some    obscure    mention    as    standing    near    the  chap,  ii 
Temple  of  Julius;-^' 

The  explanation  here  given  of  the  first  back- 
ground (in  which  the  Temples  of  Vespasi«*in  and 
Saturn  appear)  agrees  with  that  of  Signor  Brizio, 
to  whose  paper  I  have  referred.  In  the  other 
background  that  learned  anticpiary  tliought  we 
niiirht  find  the  Basilica  Aemilia  and  some  other 
buildinu's  of  the  north-eastern  side  of  the  Forum. 
This  opinion  was  founded  on  the  supposition  that 

••'■  Haec  .  .  Augustus.  Iluius  facti  notae  repraesentantur  in  arcu 
qui  est  iuxta  aedem  Dlvi  lulii.  Mai.  Interpret.  Vir;ril.  Aen.  vii.  6; 
viii.  666:  cited  by  Canina,  Foro  Rom.  134,  139.  In  the  representa- 
tion in  relief  of  tlie  triumph  of  Marcus  Aurelius  now  preserved  in 
the  Capitol,  the  buildin;is  of  the   background  appear  to  me  to  be  the 


70 


THE  ROMAN  FOKUM. 


CHAP.  II.  the  two  views  were  taken  in  opposite  directions, 
a  supposition  which  is  contradicted  by  the  similar 
relative  position  of  the  statue  and  fig-tree  in  both 
scenes.  The  two  sculptures  are  in  fact  united  by 
the  recurrence  of  these  objects,  and  present  us 
with  a  partial  panorama,  comprehending  the  south- 
east, south-west,  and  part  of  the  north-west  side 
of  the  Forum,  as  seen  from  the  neighbourhood  of 

the  Rostra. 
Rostra  of         We  Hiav  HOW  tum  to  the  identification  of  the 
Forum.       objocts  in  the  foreground.     Among  these  are  the 
Rostra  of  the  Forum.    The  removal  of  this  monu- 
ment from  its  old  site  at  the  edge  of  the  Comitium, 
w^here  it  stood  till  the  time  of  Cicero,  is  testified 
by  Dio  and  Asconius  ;  but  its  subsequent  position 
has  not  been   ascertained,  except  so  far  as  the 
sculpture  before  us  enables  us  to  do  so.^^^ 
statue  of         rp^^  statue  seen  in  both  the  bas-reliefs  repre- 

Marsyas. 

sents  a  figure  nearly  nude,  but  shod  with  a  sort 
of  loose  boots.  On  his  left  shoulder  he  bears 
a  full  w^ine-skin,  and  his  right  arm,  which  is  lost 
in  both  sculptures,  appears  to  have  been  raised 
in  the  air.  This  figure  has  been  recognised  as 
that  of  Marsyas,  who  is  represented  with  the  attri- 
butes of  a  Satyr  or  Silenus,  a  character  ascribed 
to    him    by   Herodotus    and    Pausanias.^      This 

same  arch  and  temple  as  seen  from  the  other  side  of  the  arch.  The 
temple  is  tetrastyle.     See  p.  140. 

'^s  Dio  Cass,  xllii.  49.  Ascon.  ad  Cic.  p.  10,  INIil.  5.  The  history  of 
the  Rostra  is  more  fully  discussed  in  Chapter  V. 

'    'Ev   Ty    6   Tov    ^iXrjvov    Mapai'isu)    drrKOi'    iv     Ty     ttoKi   (KfXatj/atf) 


MARSYAS. 


71 


character  agrees  with  the  description  of  Servius,  chap.  ii. 
who,  commenting  on  Virgil's  ''  father  Lyaeus," 
says  that  Marsyas,  the  servant  of  Lyaeus,  was 
put  in  market-places  as  an  emblem  of  liberty 
(perhaps  of  plenty),  and  bore  witness  with  up- 
lifted hand  to  the  ample  supplies  of  the  town.^"' 
The  uplifted  hand  is  alluded  to  by  Horace,  where 
he  represents  Marsyas  as  professing  his  inability 
to  tolerate  the  face  of  Novius. 

Obeundiis  Marsya,  qui  se 
Vultiim  ferre  negat  Noviorum  posse  minoris.^ 

The  Marsyas  of  the  Forum  is  mentioned  hy 
Martial. 

Si  schola  damnetur,  fora  litibus  omnia  servant ; 
Ipse  potest  fieri  Marsya  causidicus.'-^ 

The  position  of  the  statue  before  the  Rostra 
is  attested  by  the  Scholia  to  Horace,'^  and  ap- 
pears to  be  alluded  to  by  Seneca  in  a  passage 
in  which  he  describes  Julia,  the  licentious  daug-h- 

(ivuKpfiiaTai,  TOV  iirb  ^pvywv  Xoyog  tx^i  vtto  'ATroXXwvog  Udapevra 
araKpffxacjOt'ivai.     llerodot.  vii.  26.     Paus.  ii.  7,  9. 

'««  Lyaeo ;  qui,  ut  supia  diximus,  apte  iu  urbibus  libertatis  [qu. 
ubertatis]  est  deus.  Unde  etiam  Marsyas  eius  minister  in  civitatibus 
in  foro  positus  libertatis  [//m.  ubertatis]  imo  iustitiae  indicium;  qui 
erecta  manu  testatur  nihil  urbi  deesse.     Servius  ad  Virg.  Aen.  iv.  58. 

*  Horat.  Sat.  i  6.  120.  The  same  jest  has  been  applied  in  modern 
times  to  the  statue  of  the  Nile  in  the  Piazza  Navona  (or  Agonale), 
who  was  said  by  Bernini  to  veil  his  head,  that  he  might  not  see  the 
fa9ade  of  Santa  Agnese. 

2  Mart.  Ep.  ii.  64,  8. 

3  Marsya  statua  erat  in  Rostris  .  .  .  Novii  fuerunt  acerrimi  fenera- 
tores.  Schol.  Acronis,  ad  Ilor.  Sat.  i.  6.  120.  Marsya  statua  erat  pro 
Rostris,  ad  quam  solebant  eonvenire  causidici.    Schol.  Cruq.  ib. 


72 


THE  ROMAN  FORUM. 


FIG-TREE  OF  THE  LACUS  CURTIUS. 


73 


CHAP  II.  ter  of  Augustus,  as  giving  her  assignations  at 
Marsvas,  and  as  (lisii:racino:  with  her  crimes  the 
Rostra  where  her  father  had  pronudgated  his 
hiws  in  favour  of  chastity  and  niarriage.^'^^  Pliny 
tells  us  that  Au<>ustus  himself  in  some  of  his 
letters  spoke  with  bitterness  of  the  statue  of  Mar- 
svas havins:  been  crowned  with  2;arlands  by  his 
daughter  in  her  nightly  excursions.  We  read  in 
the  same  author  of  a  certain  P.  Munatius  having 
been  ordered  to  prison  by  the  Triumviri  Capitales 
for  taking  a  chaplet  from  Marsyas  and  placing  it 
on  his  own  head,  and  having  in  vain  called  for 
the  intercession  of  tlie  Tribuni  Plebis  in  the  case.^ 
Botli  these  anecdotes  appear  to  show  that  the 
vStatue  was  of  no  great  height.  It  is  represented 
in  the  bas-reliefs  as  less  than  life  size,  but  this 
may  be  the  result  of  want  of  space. 

When  we  find  a  fi2;-tree  associated  with  other 
monuments  of  Roman  celebritv,  our  thoughts  na- 
turally  turn  to  the  Ruminal  Fig-tree,  mentioned 
by  so  nianv  classical  writers.  But  that  famous 
tree,  originally  at  the  foot  of  the  Palatine  hill, 
was,  in  the  time  of  Tacitus,  undoubtedlv  in  the 

"■'^  Forum  ipsuin  ac  Rostra  ex  quibus  pater  legem  de  adulteriis 
tulerat,  filiae  in  stupra  placulsse,  quotidianum  ad  Marsyam  concur- 
sura,  etc.     Seneca  de  benef.  vi.  32. 

*  P.  Munatius  quum  demptam  JMarsyae  coronam  capiti  suo  impo- 
suisset  atque  ob  id  duci  eum  in  vincula  Triumviri  jussissent,  appel- 
lavit  Tribunes  plebis  :  nee  intercessere  illi  ....  Apud  nos  exem- 
plum  liccntiae  huius  non  est  aliud  quam  filia  divi  Augusti,  cuius  lux- 
uria  noctibus  coronatum  Marsyam  literae  iilius  dei  gemunt.  Plin. 
N.  II.  xxi.  7. 


Fig-tree, 


not  the 

Ruminal 

Fig-tree. 


Comitium,^*^''  and  therefore  the  tree  here  repre-  chap.  ii. 

sented  as    standing   in   the    Mid    Forum   cannot 

be   the   Ruminal  Fig-tree.      It    is    fortunate    for  ^eif-sown 

"  ng-tree  m 

the  elucidation  of  the  topo2:raphv  of  the  Forum  the  Mid 

^     ^      ^     -  Forum. 

that  Pliny  has  given  an  account  of  another 
tree,  which  we  mav  claim  without  much  doubt 
as  the  subject  of  the  bas  -  relief.  After  speak- 
ing of  the  fig-tree  of  the  Comitium,  lie  adds 
that  the  same  tree  grows  self-soAvn  in  the  Mid 
Forum,  where  Curtius  filled  up  the  chasm  of  a 
falling  state  with  the  gifts  of  valour  and  piety  and 
an  illustrious  death.'  Assuming  therefore  this  to 
be  the  tree  represented  in  the  bas-relief,  we  must 
conclude  that  the  statue  of  Marsyas  stood  near 
the  edge  of  the   Lacus   Curtius.      This   flimous  ^^^^M^ 

Curtius. 

monument,  as  we  may  gather  from  the  notices  of 
Yarro  and  Ovid,  was  nothing  but  a  diy  space  of 
ground,  marked  off  by  a  low  fence,  witliin  which 
in  Ovid's  time  an  altar  was  included.  While 
tradition  related  various  stories  about  its  ori^rin, 
the  one  connecting  it  w  ith  ^Mettus  Curtius,  the 
Sabine  leader  against  Romulus  in  the  battle 
fought  in   tlie   Forum,   the   other  with   the   self- 


'*^'  Tac.  Ann.  xiii.  58.     See  further  in  Chapter  IV. 

^  Colitur  ficus  arbor  in  foro  ipso  ac  comitio  Romae  nata  sacro 
(ulguribus  ibi  conditis  ....  Eadem  fortuito  satu  vivit  in  medio 
foro,  qua  sidentia  imperi  fundamenta  ostento  fatali  Curtius  maxu- 
mis  bonis,  hoc  est  virtute  ac  pietate  ac  morte  praedara,  expleverat. 
Aeque  fortuita  eodem  loco  est  vitis  atque  olea  umbrae  f^ratia 
sedulitate  plebeia  satae.  Ara  inde  sublata  gladiatorio  munere  divi 
lulii  quod  novissime  pugnavit  in  foro.     Plin.  N.  II.  xv.  20. 


\i. 


74 


THE  ROMAN  FORUM. 


CHAR  II  devotion  of  M.  Curtius — stories  whieli  were  sup- 
ported by  the  name  of  the  place,  and  perhaps  had 
no  other  foundation, — its  appearance  seems  rather 
to  have  suggested  the  idea  that  it  was  a  fnlguri- 
tiim^  or  spot  struck  by  lightning,  and  therefore 
considered  sacred.^^^  It  was  only  in  such  a  place, 
religiously  protected  from  traffic,  that  a  self-sown 
tree  was  likely  to  grow  in  the  midst  of  so  crowded 
a  locality.  We  learn  from  Pliny,  that,  besides 
the  fig,  there  were  in  his  time  a  vine  and  an  olive 
growing  in  the  Lacus  Curtius,  which  were  much 
prized  for  the  shade  they  afforded.  Tlie  altar 
had  been,  according  to  an  obscure  passage  of 
this  author,  removed  at  some  gladiatorial  show 


Altar  of 
the  Lucus 
(-urtius. 


168 


Curtius  ille  lacus,  siccas  qui  sustinet  aras, 
Nunc  solida  est  tellus,  sed  lacus  ante  fuit. 

Ovid.  Fast.  vi.  403. 

In  foro  lacum  Curtium  a  Curtio  dictum  constat,  et  de  eo  triceps 
historia  ...  A  Procilio  relatum,  in  eo  loco  dehisse  terram  et  id  ex 
senatus  consulto  ad  haruspices  relatum  esse :  rcsponsum  deum 
]\Ianio  Postilionem  postulare,  id  est  civem  fortissinoum  eodera  mitti : 
turn  quendam  Curtium  civem  fortem  armatum  ascendisse  in  equum 
et  a  Concordia  versum  cum  equo  eo  praecipitatum  :  eo  facto  locum 
coisse  atque  eius  corpus  divinitus  humasse  ac  reliquisse  genti  suae 
memoriam.  Piso  in  annalibus  scribit,  Sabino  bello  quod  fuit  Romulo 
et  Tatio,  virum  fortissimum  Metium  Curtium  Sabinum,  cum  Romulus 
cum  suis  ex  superiore  parte  impressionem  fecisset,  Curtium  in  locum 
palustrem,  qui  turn  fuit  in  foro  antequam  cloacae  sint  factae,  secessisse, 
atque  ad  suos  in  Capitolium  recepisse;  ab  eo  lacum  invenisse  nomen. 
C.  Aelius  et  Lufatius  sciibunt  eum  locum  esse  fulguritum,  et  ex 
senatus  consulto  septum  esse,  id  quod  factum  est  a  Curtio  consule, 
quoi  M.  Genucius  fuit  collega,  Curtium  appellatum.  Varro,  L.  L.  v. 
32  (42). 

Livy  tells  impartially  both  stories  (Liv.  i.  13;  vii.  6)  ;  Dionysius 
that  of  Mettus  Curtius  (Dionys  ii.  41.)  The  name  of  Curtius  is 
probably  connected  with  Curia  and  Quirites. 


i 
\ 


LACUS  CURTIUS. 


75 


either  exhibited  by,  or  in  honour  of,  Julius  ;  chap.  ii. 
but  this  information  appears  to  be  contradicted 
by  the  passage  from  Ovid,  in  which  he  speaks 
of  the  altar  as  existing.^^'^  It  is  mentioned  by 
Suetonius,  as  a  proof  of  the  popularity  of  Augus- 
tus, that  persons  of  all  ranks  were  accustomed 
once  a  vear  to  throw  a  coin  into  the  Lacus  Curtius 
with  a  prayer  for  the  health  of  the  emperor.^'^ 

The  monument  of  Trajan  serves,  therefore,  not  Site  of 

.  the  Lacus 

only  to  illustrate  the  relative  position  of  the  Curtius. 
Rostra  and  Marsyas,  but  to  fix  in  some  measure 
the  situation  of  the  Lacus  Curtius,  which  would 
seem  to  have  been  in  front  of  the  Rostra,  some- 
what to  the  left  as  one  looked  towards  the  Ba- 
silica Julia.  It  will  be  rememl)ered  that  the 
Lacus  Curtius  was  the  scene  of  the  death  of  the  i^eath  of 

Galba. 

emperor  Galba,  who  was  here  thrown  out  of  his 
chair  by  his  frightened  bearers,  and  despatched 
by  the  partisans  of  Otho.^  Its  proximity  to  the 
Rostra,  as  shown  by  a  comparison  of  the  bas- 
reliefs  with  the  passage  cited  from  Pliny,  gives  a 
meaning  to  the  subsequent  narrative  of  Tacitus, 
when,  describing  Vitellius's  more  ignominious 
end,  when  he  was  driven  with  violence  from  the 
Palatine  to  tlie  Scalae  Gemoniae,  the  historian 

»««  Plin.  N.  H.  XV.  20  (Note  167)  ;  Ovid.  Fast.  vi.403  (Note  168). 

•'<•  Omnes  ordines  in  lacum  Curt!  quot  annis  ex  voto  pro  salute  eius 
stipem  iaciebant.     Sueton.  Aug.  57. 

'  luxta  Curti  lacum  trepidatione  ferentium  Galba  proiectus  e 
sella  ac  provolutus  est.  Tac.  Hist.  i.  41.  lb.  ii.  5^.  lun^ulatus  est 
ad  lacum  Curti.     Sueton.  Galba,  20. 


I 


76 


THE  ROMAN  FORUM, 


CHAP.  II.  says  tliat  he  was  forced  to  raise  his  face,  and  look 
sometimes  at  his  own  falling;  statues,  and  fre- 
quently at  the  Rostra  or  the    place  of  Galba's 


1. 


172 


Position  of 
the  Rostra. 


Ruin  of 
the  Rostra. 


deatl 

The  Ilostra,  as  represented  in  the  bas-reliefs, 
appear  to  have  stood  in  the  open  area  of  the 
Forum,  opposite  to  the  middle  of  the  Basilica 
Julia.  With  respect  to  their  precise  position 
some  further  light  is  furnished  by  the  back- 
ground of  the  bas-relief  of  the  burning  of  the  re- 
gisters. It  has  been  remarked  that,  between  the 
porticoes  of  the  temples  of  Saturn  and  Vespasian, 
an  arch  is  seen,  which  appears  to  be  one  of  those 
belonging  to  the  loggia  or  gallery  of  the  Ta))ula- 
rium.  Now,  the  relative  position  of  these  two 
porticoes  is  such  that  it  is  only  from  a  certain 
limited  area,  traversing  the  open  Forum,  that  any 
interval  would  appear  between  them.  This  may 
be  best  seen  by  reference  to  the  Plan.  We  may 
conclude,  therefore,  that  the  site  of  the  Rostra, 
from  the  immediate  neighbourhood  of  which  this 
view  is  supposed  to  be  taken,  was  within  these 
limits,  or  very  near  them.     Somewhat  eastward 


^■-  Vitelliuni  infestis  niucronibus  coaetum  niodo  eri<;ere  os  et 
offerre  contumeliis,  nunc  cadentes  statuas  suas,  pleruniqne  Rostra 
aut  Galbae  occisi  locum  contueri,  postremo  ad  Gemonias,  ubi  corpus 
Flavii  Sabini  iacuerat,  propulere.     Tac.  Hist.  iii.  85. 

Seminudus  in  forum  tractus  est  inter  magna  rerum  verboruinque 
ludibria  per  totum  Viae  Sacrae  spatium,  reducto  coma  capite,  ceu 
noxii  sclent,  atque  etiam  mento  mucrone  gladii  subruto,  ut  visendam 
praeberet  facicm  neve  submitteret.     Sueton.  Vitell.  17. 


POSITION  OF  THE   ROSTRA. 


77 


* 

» 


M 


of  the  monument  last  described,  upon  the  very  chap.  n. 
line  which  commands  a  view  between  the  porti- 
coes  of  Saturn  and  Vespasian,  the  ruin  of  the 
I)ase  of  a  ])uilding  has  recentlv  been  excavated, 
which  may  not  impro])abIy  l)e  a  part  of  the 
Rostra  themselves. 

Supposing  the  Marsyas  to  have  stood  some  ten  Horse  of 
yards  in  front  of  this  site,  with  the  Lacus  Curtius  ^'""''''"° 
to  the  left  of  it,  the  latter  would  be  immediately 
behind  a  ]iedestal — a])parently  of  a  large  equestrian 
statue — the  ruins  of  which  remain,  and  corre- 
spond in  j)osition  with  what  is  known  of  the  site 
of  the  colossal  equestrian  statue  of  Domitian. 
This  statue  is  the  su1)ject  of  a  poem  by  Statius, 
who  descril^es  the  emperor  as  having  l)efore  him 
the  Temple  of  Julius,  on  one  side  the  Basilica 
Julia,  on  the  other  that  of  Paullus,  and  behind 
him,  his  fatiier  and  Concord  ;  while  in  his  more 
distant  view  rise  his  new  structures  on  the  Pala- 
tine and  the  sacred  buildings  of  Vesta.  He 
further  represents  him  as  saluted  on  his  arrival 
by  Curtius,  tlie  tutelary  genius  of  the  s])ot.^'^  We 


173 


Pur  operi  sedes.     llinc  obvia  liiniua  pandit, 
Qui  fessus  bellis,  adscitae  munere  prolis 
Primus  iter  nostris  ostendit  in  aetliera  divis. 
♦  *  ♦  • 

At  laterum  passus  hinc  lulia  tecta  tuentur, 
Illinc  belligeri  sublimis  rcgia  Pauli ; 
Terga  pater,  blandoque  videt  Concordia  vultu. 
I{)se  autem  puro  celsum  caput  acre  septus 
Templa  superlulges,  et  [)rospectare  videris, 
An  nova  contemptis  surgant  Pallatia  llammis 


78 


THE  ROMAN  FORUM. 


Horse  of 
Domitian 


CHAP.  II.  liave  thus  a  group  of  objects  belonging  to  the 
Mid  Forum — the  horse  of  Domitian,  the  Lacus 
Curtius,  the  Marsyas,  and  the  Rostra — the  rela- 
tive positions  of  which  are  in  a  great  measure 
ascertained  ;  and  their  absolute  sites  cannot  be 
far  from  the  positions  suggested. 

It  may  be  observed  that  the  position  thus  given 
to  the  Lacus  Curtius  corresponds  nearly  with  that 
indicated  by  Dionysius,  namely,  the  very  centre 
of  the  open  space  of  the  Forum.^'* 

It  is  unlikely  that  the  gigantic  statue  of  Domi- 
tian should  have  been  allowed  to  occupy  so  promi- 
nent a  position  after  his  death,  when  his  memory 
was  generally  execrated  ;  and  no  subsequent  men- 
tion of  the  statue  is  to  be  found.  The  ruined 
l)ase  now  remaining  may  have  served  to  support  a 
succession  of  emperors.  In  the  time  of  Herodian 
a  colossal  equestrian  statue  of  bronze  stood  in  the 
middle  of  the  Forum,  not  improbably  upon  this 
pedestal,  which  was  understood  to  be  commemo- 
rative of  a  dream  of  Septimius   Severus.     The 

Pulchrius,  an  tacita  vigilet  face  Troicus  icrnis. 

Atque  exploratas  iam  landet  Vesta  ministras. 

♦  *  *  » 

Ipse  loci  custom,  cuius  sacrata  voraf^o 
Famosique  lacus  noinen  meniorabile  servant, 
Tnnumeros  aeris  sonitus,  et  verbere  crebro 
Ut  sensit  mugire  forum,  movet  liorrida  sancto 
Ora  situ,  meritaque  caput  venerabile  quercu. 

Statius,  Silv.  i.  1,22,  66. 
>■*  KaXeWat  dk  .  .  .   Kovpriog  Xdicog,  iv  fiemp  indXiara  ^v  n/f  'PwfxaUov 
dyopai:     Dionys.  ii.  41.     Liv.  vii.  6.     (Note  98.) 


Colossal 
horse  of 
Severus. 


nORSE  OF  SEVERUS. 


79 


dream  itself  is  illustrative  of  the  topography  of  chap.  ii. 
the  Forum.  Severus,  some  time  before  his  acces- 
sion,  saw  in  his  sleep  the  emperor  Pertinax 
mounted  on  a  spirited  horse,  on  which  he  rode 
through  the  middle  of  the  Sacred  Way.  When  he 
came  to  the  beginning  of  the  Forum,  a  public 
assembly  was  held,  at  which  Pertinax  was  thrown 
from  his  seat.  The  restive  animal  was  mounted 
by  Severus  himself,  and  stood  quiet  in  the  Mid 
Forum,  where,  according  to  the  historian,  a 
colossal  image  of  the  dream  in  bronze  remained 
to  his  day.^'^ 

Near  the  Rostra  were  statues  of  the  Three  The  Three 
Sibyls,   mentioned  hy  Pliny,  and  considered  by  ^'^^^'' 
him  to  have  been  among  the  earliest  works  of  the 
kind  in  Rome.'     It  was  probably  these  statues 
which  at  a  later  time  Avere  popularly  known  as 
tlie   Three  Fates.      Procopius,   a   writer   of  the  Three 
sixth  century,  describes  the  Temple  of  Janus  as 


'"  Mfyav  Se  Kai  yfvvaTov  'Ittttov  (SaffiXiKoTg  tpaXdpoiQ  KEKo<TfiT]ftfvov  .^'/y0j/ 
fiX^TTHP,  (p'fpovTa  Tov  UepHvaKa  iiroxov/ievov  cid  fifffrjc  Tt'ig  tv  'Pwfiy  hpag 
ocov.  tTTEt  Sk  KOTd  Tt)v  rz/f  uyopdc  dpxi]v  lyh^TO,  tv9a  tirl  t^q  Stj/xoKpa- 
riag  npoTfpov  o  ^Tinog  (ri-i/iwi/  lKKXt](Tia'Ctv,  (^ii^ij  tov  'ittttov  aTTotTHcaneai 
fiiv  TOV  mprivaKU  Kai  p^ai,  avTtp  dt  dXXwg  itTToJri  VTToSvvai  re  avrov  Kai 
dpdfisvov  tTTi  To7g  vutToig  (j>'tpHv  re  datpaXwg  Kai  arijvai  f3ef3aiwg  Itti  rijg 
dyopdg  fietTT]g,  elg  vxjyog  dpaura  tup  H^lSripov,  u,g  {Ttto  TTdvnov  opdtrBai  re 
Kai  Tifxdrreai.  fxtvu  Sk  Kai  fig  ,)fidg  iv  Uuvn^  nf  x^^P^V  V  rov  opeiparog 
ttKMP  fieyiarr]^  x'^^x^f^"  TreTroiij^'tvi).     Herodian.  ii   9. 

«  Equidem  et  Sibyllas  iuxta  rostra  esse  non  miror,  tres  sint  licet, 
una  quam  Sextus  Pacuvius  Taurus  Aedilis  plebis  instituit  {qu.  res- 
tituit),  duae  quas  M.  Messala.  Primas  putarem  has,  et  Atti  Navii 
positas  aetate  Taniuinii  Prisci,  nisi  regum  antecedentium  essent  m 
Capitolio.     Plin.  N.  II.  xxxiv.  11. 


80 


THE  ROMAN  FORUM. 


ciiAP^  II.  being'  a  little  past  the  Three  Fates  ;''''  and,  at  a  still 
later  date,  the  same  name  seems  to  have  served  to 
designate  a  street  running  along  the  north-eastern 
side  of  the  Forum,  and  even  to  have  taken  the 
place  of  the  name  of  the  Sacra  \'ia.  In  the 
account  of  Pope  Honorius  I.  l)y  Anastasius, 
Ilonorius  is  said  to  have  built  the  Church  of 
S.  Adriano  in  the  Three  Fates  ;  and,  in  the  same 
work,  the  Church  of  SS.  Cosmas  and  Damian  is 
also  described  as  in  the  Three  Fates,  the  latter 
being  in  the  very  middle  of  the  Sacra  Via."  The 
fact  that  their  name  was  borrowed  for  the  street 
makes  it  probal)le  that  the  Sibyls  stood  behind  the 
Rostra  near  the  edge  of  the  Forum. 

On  the  north-eastern  side  of  the  uncovered 
area  of  the  Mid  Forum  may  be  seen  at  intervals 
some  traces  of  a  road,  which  appears  to  have  led 
to  the  Arch  of  Severus. 

At  the  south-eastern  end  of  the  Mid  Forum 
was  a  building  of  which  no  satisfactorv  account 
as  far  as  I  am  aware,  has  been  given.  The  ruins 
consist  of  a  brick  nucleus  with  some  reniains  of  a 
marble  plinth.  At  the  j)eriod  when  the  monument 
of  Trajan  was  designed,  this  place  must  have  been 
either  vacant  or  occupied  only  by  a  low  structure, 
since  the  Temple  of  Divus  Julius  is  represented  in 

'"  Procop.  Bell.  Goth.  i.  25.     See  Chapter  VI. 

»  Fecit  ecelesiam  B.  Adriano  Martvri  in  Tribus  Fatis,  et  dedicavit 
et  dona  multa  obtulit.     Anasas.  Biblioth.  in  vit.  Hon.  I. 

Pariier  et  basilicam  S.S.  Cosmae  et  Damiani  sitani  in  Tribus 
Fatis  e  novo  totam  restauravit.    Id.  in  vit.  Hadriani  I. 


I 


TRIBUNAL  AURELIUM. 


81 


one  of  the  bas-reliefs,  as  seen  in  this  direction  from  chap  ii 
the   Rostra.     The  site,  which  is   near  the  steps  Trii;;;;:ai 
of  the  Temijle   of  Castor,  was  probably  that  of  ^"""™- 
the  tril)unal  in  the  Mid  Forum  at  which  Cicero 
pleaded  the  cause  of  Bestia,  when  he  made  use 
of  tlie  locality    to    liring  in    an   allusion    to   an 
event  which  had  happened  at  the  Temple.'™     It 
was   probably  the    same   tribunal  which  is    fre- 
quently mentioned  by  Cicero  under  the  name  of 
Tribunal  Aurelium,  and  at  which  Clodius  enlisted 
his  followers  during  the  turbulent  days  of  his  tri- 
buneship,  when,  according  to  Cicero,  the  Temple 
of  Castor  was  filled  with  armed  men,  and  made 
the   citadel  of  the  enemies  of  the  state."     The 
tribunal  appears  to  have  been  a  more  solid  and 
permanent   structure  than   those   of  the  Forum 
usually  were.     Its  origin   and   name  have   been 
ascribed  to  M.  Aurelius  Cotta,  consul  b.c.  74 ;™  but 
Cicero  s])eaks  of  the  ffmdus  Aurelii  as  newly  built 
when  L.  Quintius  was  tribune,'  which  appears  to 

'■'  Cic.  ail  Quint,  frat.  ii.  3.    fNote  96.) 

»  Pro  Aureli..  trihunali  .  .  .  delectus  servorum  habebatur  ab  eo 
qu.  n>b,l  s,b,  unquan,  nee  facere  nee  pati  turpe  duxit.  Arma  in  tern- 
plum  Castons  .  .  eonstituebantur  ab  eo  latrone,  eui  templum  illud 
fuit,  te  eonsule,  arx  civium  perditorum.  Cic.  in  Pis.  5.  Id  pro 
next.  15  ;  pro  dom.  sua.  21. 

••Becker,  Handbuch,  i.  324.     As  to  tbe  nature  of  the  tribunals  of 
the  torum,  see  further,  Chapter  IV. 

'  Aecus.-.bat  tribunus  plebis  idem  in  coneionibus,  idem  ad  sub- 
sell.a;  ad  md.eium,  non  n.odo  de  coneione,  sed  etiam  cum  ipsa  con- 
c,one  ven,ebat.  Gradus  iUi  Aurelii,  tum  novi,  quasi  pro  theatro  illi 
mdico  aed.ficat,  videbantur,  qu„s  ubi  aceusator  concitatis  hominibus 
compl^at,  non  mode  dicendi  ab  reo,  ,ed  ne  surgendi  quidem  potestas 
erat.     Cic.  pro  Cluent.  34.  ^  f  ^ 

6 


82 


THE  ROMAN  FORUM. 


Pila  Hora 
tia. 


CHAP.  11.  have  been  in  the  preceding  year,  during  the  consul- 
ship  of  C.  Aurelius  Cotta,  the  brother  of  Marcus. 
At  the  corner,  either  of  one  of  the  rows  of 
tabernae^  or  of  one  of  the  two  great  basilicas  of 
the  Forum,  stood  a  small  pillar,  which  was  called 
Pila  Horatia,  and  was  believed  to  have  once  sup- 
ported the  spoils  of  the  Curiatii.    This  monument 


182 


Transverse 
limb  of 
the  Sacra 
Via. 


was  still  in  existence  in  the  Augustan  age. 

Adjoining  the  ruin  which  has  been  associated 
with  the  Trilninal  Aurelium  is  an  ancient  roadway, 
running  at  right  angles  with  the  street  which  passes 
in  front  of  the  Basilica  Julia,  but  forming,  never- 
theless, a  continuation  of  it.  For  this  latter  street 
(which  has  been  already  described  as  a  part  of 
the  Sacra  Via  in  the  larger  sense  of  the  term),^ 
after  passing  the  end  of  the  Vicus  Tuscus,  has 
been  found  upon  excavation  to  turn  sharply  round 
to  the  left,  in  front  of  the  Temple  of  Castor.  This 
cross  limb  of  the  Sacra  Via  forms  the  eastern 
boundary  of  the  Mid  Forum.  Its  further  coiu-se 
is  now  lost  under  the  l)ank  of  modern  debris,  just 


'^2  Spolia  Curiatioruni  fixa  eo  loco,  qui  nunc  Pila  Horatia  appel- 
latur.    Liv.  i.  ''i.Q, 

"ETipov  ^f  rriQ  dpiTiJQ  i)v  iirfhi^aro  Kara  ttjv  fiaxv^  fiaprvpiov  i)  yioviaia 
ffrvXig  i)  Trig  trkpag  TraaTucoQ  dpxovaa  tv  ciyop^^  itf  ijq  tKHTO  to.  (TKvXa 
tCjv  'AX/3avwv  Tpt^i'pojv.  to.  fitv  ovv  ovXa  i}<puviaTai  hd  fitJKog  xpovov^ 
TTjv  S'  tTriKXijcriv  /)  <ttvXiq  (pvXaTTSi  ttjv  avriiv,  'Oparia  KaXovfitvr]  Tri'Xa. 
Dionys.  iii.  21.  In  the  Latin  writers  the  word  pila  is  plural,  not 
pillar,  but  javelins.  Inter  ilia  pila  et  spolia  hostium.  Liv.  i.  26. 
Et  cecinit  Curios  Iratres  et  Horatia  pila. 

Propert.  iii.  3,  7. 
'  See  before,  p.  46. 


LEVELS  OF  THE  FORUM. 

apparently  at  the  point  wl.ere  it  turned  again  to 
the  r,o.ht  „,  order  to  pass  in  front  of  the  Temple 
otl^austma.  ^ 

The  progress  of  exploration  on  the  north-east 
side  of  the  Porum  is  stoj,ped  by  the  street  which 
runs  at  the  modern  level  along-  this  side  of 
the  excavated  space.  If  the  ground  could  be 
fuither  cleared  ,n  this  direction,  we  n.ight  hope 
to  find  some  remains  of  the  highest  interest.     It 

was  on  tins  side  of  the  Forum  that  the  Basilica 
Porca  was  budt  by  the  elder  Cato,  in  the  imme- 
diate proximity  of  the  Curia.     It  was  on  this  si.le 
a  so  that  the  Temple  of  Janus  was  situated,  at 
the  bottom  of  the  Argiletum,  and  commanding  a 
v,ewofo„eof  the  other  Fora  to  the  north-e.^st. 
The  Basdica  Aemilia   was  another  of  the  prin- 
cipal Inuldmgs  of  the  same  side  of  the  Forum 
and  was   situated   close  to  the  Jani^s.'"     These 
monuments  will  be  the  subject  of  further  consider- 
ation  m  another  chapter.^ 

The  lowest  level  of  the  Forum  is  in  the  road 
near  the  eastern  corner  of  the  Basilica  Julia,  at 
he  end  of  the  Vicus  Tuscus.  From  this  point 
the  street  rises  gradually  as  far  as  the  si  e  of 
the  Arch  of  Ti]>erius,  whence  the  ascent  becon.es 
more  rapid  to  the  Capitol.  In  the  other  direction 
also  there  IS  a  very  sensible  rise  in  front  of  the 
Temple  of  Castor,  and  in  the  space  beyond,  as 

'"  Schol.  Cruq.  ad  Uor.  Sat.  ii.  3,  IH 
'  See  Chapter  VI. 

G  2 


83 

CHAP.  II. 


North-east 
side  of 
the  Mid 
I'orum. 


Basilica 
J*orcia. 

Janus. 


Basilica 
Aemilia. 


I.<evels  of 
the  Forum. 


84 


THE  ROMAN  FORUM. 


CHAP.  II.  far  as  the  eastern  end  of  the  Forum.  The  Cloaca 
cio^  Maxima,  which  we  may  suppose  to  have  been 
Maxima,  ^^.j^jj^.^n^.  (.^^.^^ied  through  the  lowest  ground, 
passes  under  the  raised  platform  of  the  Basilica 
Julia  near  its  eastern  end,  where  the  Cloaca  has 
been  opened  so  that  the  structure  of  its  arches  may 
be  well  seen.  It  then  crosses  obliquely  the  open 
area  of  the  Forum,  passing  under  the  ruins  of  the 
large  pedestal  which  has  l)een  supposed  to  mark 
the  position  of  Domitian's  Horse. 

The  commencement  of  the  great  cloacae,  by 

which  the  low  ground  in  and  near  the  Forum  w\as 

drained,  is  attributed  by   the  Roman  historians 

to  King  Tarquinius  Priscus,  by  whom,  as  w^e  have 

seen,  the  Forum  is  said  to  have  been  otherwise 

improved.^^'     The  later  Tarquin,  who   completed 

his   grandfather's   work,    was   believed   to   have 

employed  in  the  construction  of  the  drains   the 

forced  labour  of  the  Roman  people.' 

Pavement        Xhc  surflicc  of  the  opcu  Forum,  as  we  now  find 

Forum.       it,  is  pavcd,  wherc  it  was  intended  for  the  use  of 

carriages,  with  large  polygonal  l)locks  of  hard  grey 

volcanic  stone,  called  silex  by  the  ancient,  and 

selce  by  the  modern  Romans  ;  and,  w  here  it  is  in- 

»s«  See  p.  52. 

(Tarquinius  Priscus)  infima  urbis  loca  circa  forum  aliasque  inter- 
iectas  collibus  convalles,  quia  ex  planis  locis  baud  facile  evehebant 
aquas,  cloacis  e  fastigio  in  Tiberim  ductis  siccat.     Liv.  i.  38. 

•  Ad  alia  .  .  (plebs)  traducebatur  opera  .  .  cloacamque  maxi- 
mam,  receptaculum  omnium  purgamentorum  urbis,  sub  terram  agen- 
dam.    Liv.  i.  56. 

Dionys.  iii.  67;  iv.  44.     Plin.  N.  H.  xxxvl.  24. 


PAVEMENT  OF  THE  FORUM. 


85 


tended  for  foot  passengers  only,  with  rectangular  chap,  ii 
slabs  of  travertine.     The  date  of  tlie  first  paving      — 
of  the  Forum  is  not  preserved.     Tlie  paving  of 
the  Clivus    Capitolinus   with   silex,    b.c.   174,  is 
mentioned  by  Livy.^««    It  was  probal)ly  on  the  oc- 
casion of  some  improvement  in  the  paving  of  the 
Forum  that  the  elder  Cato  said  that  it  should  be 
l)aved  with  shaqi  shells,  being  of  oi)inion  appa- 
rently tliat  people  were  better  kept  out  of  it.' 

The  parts  of  the  Forum  in  wliich  justice  was  Awnings 
administered  must  have  ])een  shaded  in  some  way 
from  the  sun  even  in  early   times,  prol)ably  by 
temporary    sheds   or   awnings.       Marcellus,   the 
nephew  of  Augustus,  during  his  aedileship,  is  said 
to  have  spread  an  awning  over  the  whole  Forum, 
at  the  beginning  of  August,  for  the  convenience 
of  those  engaged  in  legal  business.''^     During  an 
extremely  hot  summer,  a.d.  39,  it  was  found  ne- 
cessary to  cover  it  in  the  same  way.' 

The  Forum,  especially  in  the  Comitium  and  statues  of 
the  neighbourhood  of  the  Rostra,  afforded  the  '^'  ^"'"'^ 
favourite  sites  for  commemorative  sculpture  ;  and 

""'  Censores   clivum   Capitolinum   silice   sternendum   curaverunt. 
Liv.  xli.  27. 

"  Plin.  N.  II.  xix.  6.    (Note  190  ) 

^  Deinde  et  sine  ludis  Marcellus,  Octavia  sorore  Augusti  geni- 
tus,  in  aedilitate  sua,  avunculo  xi.  consule,  a.  d.  calendls  Au°usti 
velis  forum  inumbravit,  utsalubrius  litigantes  consisterent;  quantum 
mutatis  moribus  Catonis  Censorii,  (jui  sternendum  quoque  forum 
muricibus  censuerat.  Plin.  N.  II.  xix.  6.  Compare  Dio  Cass  liii 
31.  (Note  226.) 

'  Dio  Cass.  lix.  23. 


86 


THE  ROMAN  FORUM. 


CHAP.  II.  the  area,  not  being  large,  soon  became  incum- 
bered  with  statues.  As  early  as  B.C.  159,  the 
Censors  P.  Seipio  Xasica  and  M.  Popilius  ordered 
the  removal  of  the  statues  of  magistrates  that 
were  round  the  Forum,  except  those  which  had 
been  erected  by  the  decree  of  the  People  or 
Senate.^'' 

Themur-        Beforc  the  Rostra  of  the  Comitium,  or,  as  it 

(lered  am-  '         ' 

bassadors.  ^^s  exprcssed,  iu  rostris^  were  placed,  B.C.  438, 
statues  of  the  four  Roman  ambassadors  who  were 
killed  by  the  Fidenates.  These  statues  were 
existing  within  the  memory  of  Cicero,  and  were 
probably  destroyed  at  the  time  of  the  removal  of 
the  Rostra.^  When  Publius  Junius  Coruncanius 
and  his  brother  Tiberius,  ambassadors  to  Teuta, 
Queen  of  the  Illyrians,  were  put  to  death  by  her 
order,  B.C.  229,  their  statues  w^ere  erected,  accord- 
ing to  the  former  precedent,  at  the  Rostra.  Pliny 
mentions    an    interesting    fact   respecting   these 

'»2  (Ti.  Gracchus  ait)  prohibuisse  (Africanum)  statuas  sibi  in 
comltio,  in  Rostris,  in  Curia,  in  Capitolio  in  cella  lovis,  poni.  Liv 
xxxviii.  5Q.  It  is  obvious  that  in  tljis  passa<;e  the  orator  proceeds 
from  the  ordinary  positions  of  commemorative  sculpture  to  extra- 
ordinary honours.  The  principal  statues  of  the  Comitium  will  be 
mentioned  in  Chapter  IV. 

Lucius  Piso  prodidit,  M.  Aemilio  C.  Popilio  ii.  Consulibus,  a 
censoribus  P.  Cornelio  Scipione  M.  Popilio  statuas  circa  forum 
eorum  qui  magistratum  gesserant  sublatas  omnes,  praeter  eas  quae 
populi  aut  senatus  sententia  statutae  essent.     Plln.  N.  H.  xxxiv.  14. 

3  Legatorum  qui  Fidenis  caesi  erant  statuae  publice  in  Rostris 
positae  sunt.     Liv.  iv.  17. 

Lar  Tolumnius  Rex  Veientium,  quatuor  legates  populi  Romani 
Fidenis  interemit,  quorum  statuae  in  Rostris  steterunt  usque  ad 
nostram  memoriam.     Cic.  Phil.  ix.  2. 


STATUES  AT  THE  ROSTRA. 


87 


Sulpifius. 


early  honorary  statues,  that  they  were  only  half  chap,  il 
life  size.    They  had  become  in  his  day  matters  of 
history.^-''     Another  personage  who  earned  by  his  Cn.  Octa- 
death  the  same  distinction  was  Cn.  Octavius,  who  ^'"^ 
was  assassinated  at  Laodicea,  b.c.  162,  while  on 
an  embassy  to  the  Syrian  monarchy.    This  statue 
appears  to  have  been  thought  worthy  of  preserva- 
tion on  the  removal  of  the  Rostra,  and  was  pro- 
bably moved  with  them,  since  Cicero  speaks  of  it 
as  still   to  be  seen  in  rostris,^     In  imitation  of  Servius 
these  ancient   precedents,    a  bronze   statue   was 
erected  at  the  new  Rostra,  by  the  advice  of  Cicero, 
in  honour  of  his  friend,  the  jurist  Servius  Sulpicius, 
who  was  sent  by  the  Senate  on  a  mission  to  M. 
Antonius,  and  died  by  disease  in  his  camp  before 
Mutina  B.C.  43.      This  statue  was  still  existing 
pro  rostris  in  the  time  of  the  jurist  Pomponius.^ 
The  decree  which  conferred  this  honour  on  Sul- 
picius also  gave  to  his  posterity  the  use  of  a  space 
five  feet  wide  in  every  direction  round  the  statue 
for  the  spectacles  exhibited  in  the  Forum.' 

»"*  Inter  antiquissimas  sunt  Tullii  Cloelii,  L.  Roscii,  Sp.  Nautii, 
C.  Fulcinii  in  Rostris,  aFidenatibus  in  legatione  interfectorum.  Hoc 
a  republica  tribui  solebat  iniuria  caesis,  sicut  et  P  lunio  et  Tib. 
Coruncaniis,  qui  ab  Teuta  lllyriorum  regina  interfecti  erant.  Non 
omittendum  videtur,  quod  annales  annotavere,  tripeditanas  his 
statuas  in  foro  statutas.  Haec  videlicet  mensura  honorata  tunc 
erat.     Plin.  N.  11.  xxxiv.  II. 

*  Cn.  Octavii  .  .  .  statuam  videmus  in  Rostris.     Cic.  Phil.  ix.  2. 

In  qua  legatione  interfecto  [Octavio]  senatus  statuam  poni  iussit 
quam  in  oculatissimo  loco  in  rostris.     Plin.  N.  H.  xxxiv.  11. 

«  Dig.  lib.  I.  tit.  ii.  2,   43. 

"  Quum  talis  vir  ob    rcmpublicam  in    legatione  mortem  obierit, 


88 


THE  ROMAN  FORUM. 


CHAP.  II 

Caniillus. 


Another  early  monument  erected  m  rostris  was 
the  statue  of  Camillus,  wbicli,  like  that  of  Romu- 
lus in  the  Capitol,  was  an  example  of  the  ancient 
simplicity  of  dress,  being  clothed  in  a  toga  with- 
out tunic.  The  statue  of  Camillus  was  apparently, 
in  Pliny's  time,  a  thing  of  the  past,  though  that  of 
Romulus  was  still  preserved.^''^  According  to  Livy, 
c.Maenius.  an  equcstriau  statue  of  C.  Maenius  was  erected 
with  that  of  Camillus,  in  consequence  of  their 
triumph  over  the  Latins,  B.C.  338,  a  rare  honour 
in  those  early  times. ^ 

During  the  rule  of  Sulla,  a  gilded  equestrian 
statue  of  the  dictator  was  placed  before  the 
Rostra  of  the  Comitium,  with  the  inscription  : 


Sulla. 


CORNELIO  SULLAE  IMPERATORI  FELICI. 

Pompeius.  In  the  same  locality  a  statue  of  Pompeius  was 
also  placed,  which,  with  that  of  Sulla,  was  re- 
moved after  the  battle  of  Pharsalia.^  Both  statues 
were,   however,   restored   by   the    generosity    of 

Senatui  placere,  Ser.  Sulpicio  statuam  pedestrem  aeneain  in  Rostris 
ex  hujus  ordinis  sententia  statui,  circumque  earn  statuam  locum 
gladiatoribus  liberos  posterosque  eius  quoquo  versus  pedes  quinque 
habere.     Cic.  Phil.  ix.  7. 

'»*  Ex  his  Romuli  est  sine  tunica,  sieut  et  Camilli  in  Rostris  et 
ante  aedem  Castoris  fuit  Q.  Marcii  Tremuli  equestris  togata.  PHn. 
N.  H.  xxxiv.  1 1. 

»  Additus  triumpho  honos,  ut  statuae  equestres  iis,  rara  ilia  aetate 
res,  in  foro  ponerentur.     Liv.  viii.  13 

2****  E/«rova  reavTov  tirixpvtrov  tiri  "i-mrov  Trpb  twv  tfi^oXiov  civtOsmiv,  Kai 
VTriypa^PaV  KOPNHAIOV  .  SVAAA  .  'HrEMONGS  .  EVTVX0V2.  Ap- 
pian.  Bell.  Civ.  i.  97. 

Inaurata  equestris,  qualis  est  L.  Sullae  prima  statua.  Cic.  Phil.  ix.  6. 

'  Die  Cass.  xlii.  18. 


STATUES  IN  THE  FORUM. 


89 


Caesar,  upon  the  building  of  the  new  Rostra  in  chap.  ii. 
the  Forum.^^^ 

Two  statues  of  Julius  himself  were  erected,  J"ii"«- 
according  to  Dio,  at  the  Rostra;^  and  in  the  year 
of  Caesar's  death  an  equestrian  statue  of  the  young 
Octavianus  in  his  nineteenth  year  was  placed  there  Augustus. 
by  the  Senate,  the  inscription  upon  which  is 
cited  l)y  Paterculus  in  evidence  of  the  emperor's 
age.'^ 

There  was  also  a  statue  of  the  triumvir  Lepidus  Eepidus. 
at   the   Rostra,    which   was    removed   upon   the 
breach  between  him  and  Augustus.^ 

Of  early  statues  in  other  parts  of  the  Forum  Trcmuius. 
the  most  famous  was  that  of  Q.  Marcius  Tremulus, 
the  consul  who  defeated  the  Hernici,  B.C.  306. 
This  was  an  equestrian  statue,  and  placed  before 
the  Temple  of  Castor.^  A  gilded  equestrian  ^.•^^"^^- 
statue  was  erected  in  the  Forum  in  honour  of 
L.  Antonius,  which  Cicero  mockingly  compares 
with  that  of  the  conqueror  of  the  Hernici  before 
the   Temple  of  Castor  ; '    and  from  the  orator's 


««  Dio  Cass,  xliii.  49;  Sueton.  Caes.  75.     See  Chapter  V. 
3  Dio  Cass.  xliv.  4.     See  Chapter  V. 

*  Eum  senatus  honoratum  equestri  statua,  quae  hodieque  in 
Rostris  posita  aetatera  eius  scriptura  indicat,  qui  honor  non  alii  per 
ccc.  annos  quam  L.  Sullae  et  Cn.  Pompeio  et  C.  Caesari  contigerat, 
bellum  cum  Antonio  gerere  iussit.     Velleius  Paterc.  ii.  61. 

*  Dio  Cass.  xlvi.  51, 

6  Liv.  ix.  43;  Cic.  Phil.  vi.  5.  Plin.  N.  II.  xxxiv.  11.   (Note  198.) 
^  Aspicite  a  sinistra  illam  equestrem  statuam  inauratam  ....      In 

foro  L.  Antonii  statuam  videmus,  sicut  illam  Q.  Tremuli  qui  ller- 

nicos  dcvicit  ante  Castoris.     Cic.  Piiil.  vi.  5. 


DO 


THE  KOMAN  FORUM. 


Statues  of 
emperors. 


CHAP.  II.  words  an  aimiment  has  been  flillaciously  drawn 
with  respect  to  the  position  of  the  Rostra,  from 
which  he  bids  his  audience  to  look  at  Antonius's 
statue  on  the  left,  it  being  assumed  that  this 
statue  was  in  front  of  Castor.^^'^  There  appears, 
however,  to  be  no  ground  for  inferrino;  from 
Cicero's  language  that  any  other  statue  but  that 
of  Tremulus  was  in  this  position. 

in  imperial  times  it  seems  to  have  been  usual  to 
multiply  statues  of  the  reigning  prince  in  various 
parts  of  the  city,  a  practice  which  was  anticipated 
in  the  case  of  Julius,  to  whom  the  Senate  decreed 
the  erection  of  statues  in  all  the  temples  of  Rome.^ 
Hence  Yitellius,  dragged  through  the  Forum  on 
his  way  to  execution,  was  forced  to  look  at  his 
own  falling  statues;''  and  in  the  time  of  Domitian 
che  Sacred  Way  was  full  of  images  of  that  em- 
peror.' Domitian's  colossal  equestrian  statue  in 
the  Forum  by  the  Lacus  Curtius  has  been  already 
mentioned.^ 

Statues   of  other  persons  of  eminence  appear 
also  to  have  been  multiplied  in  the  Forum  and 
elsewhere;  those  of  Sejanus  were  innumerable 
several  of  them  being  gilt.     He,  like  Yitellius,  on 

=<>«  Becker,  Handbuch,  vol.  i.  p.  337 ;  Smith,  Diet.  Geo-,  art.  Rome 
p  792.  ' 

"  DIo  Cass.  xliv.  4. 

'"  Tac.  Hist.  iii.  85.  (Note  167.) 

'  Inde  sacro  veneranda  petes  palatia  clivo 

Plurima  qua  summi  fulget  imago  ducis. 

Mart.  £p.  i.  71.  6. 
'  See  before,  p.  77. 


Sejanus. 


COLUMNA  IJUILIA. 


91 


Columna 
Duilia. 


his  way  from  the  Palatine  to  the  prison,  witnessed  chap.  ii. 
the  destruction  of  several  of  his  own  statues.^^^ 

Another  commemorative  monument  of  the  Fo- 
rum was  the  Colunma  Duilia,  a  pillar  ornamented 
with  7*ost?Y(,  which  was  erected  in  honour  of  the 
naval  victory  gained  by  C.  Duilius  over  the  Car- 
thaginians, B.C.  2(J0.  It  was  standing  in  the  time 
of  Pliny,'  and  some  remains  of  it  were  found  in 
the  Campo  Vaccino,  not  far  from  the  Arch  of 
Severus,  and  may  now  be  seen  restored  in  the 
Capitoline  Museum. 

One  of  the  ])urposes  to  which  the  Forum  was  de-  Spectacle* 
voted  nuist  have  been  uiuch  impeded  by  the  crowd-  ^«r"m- 
ing  of  statues  upon  its  area.  It  was  the  ordinary 
place  for  religious  processions  and  the  exhibition 
of  public  games  and  spectacles.  We  have  seen  that 
the  upj)er  stories  of  the  tahernae  were  specially 
designed  for  the  convenience  of  spectators. 

On  the  occasion  of  the  Ludi  Romani  in  the  Religious 
month  of  September,  when  the  great  procession  ^ons^.^ 
of  the  gods  passed  from  the  Capitol  to  the  Circus, 
the  Comitium  was  covered  with  a  wooden  roof 
or  an  awning,  and  the  Forum  ornamented  by  the 
aediles/  Another  great  religious  spectacle  of  the 
Forum  was  the  procession  of  the  knights  to  the 
Temple  of  Castor  on  the  ides  of  July.^ 

^•3  Dio  Cass.  Iviii.  2,  11  ;  Sueton.  Tib.  65. 

*  Item  C.  Duiliu  (columna  posita  est)  ...  qui  primus  navalem 
triumphum  egit  de  Poeiiis,  quae  est  etiam  nunc  in  foro.  Plin.  N.  H. 
xxxiv.  11.    Sil.  Ital.  Punic,  vi.  663 ;  Quint.  Inst.  Or.  i.  7. 

*  Liv.  ix.  49.  (Note  133.)     lb.  xxvii.  36.  •  See  p.  106. 


92 


CHAP.  II 


« 


ii: 


Gladiato- 
rial games. 


;  I 


THE  ROMAN  FOilUM. 

The  festival  of  the  Salii,  which  took  place  in 
the  beginning  of  March  and  lasted  some  days,  was 
partly  celebrated  in  the  Forum.^^^  The  Lupercalia, 
which  were  held  in  the  middle  of  February,  also 
extended  into  the  same  locality,  as  is  shown  by 
Antonius  having  at  that  festival  offered  the  crown 
to  Caesar  at  the  Rostra.^  The  dances  and  strano-e 
costumes  of  the  former  of  these  festivals,  and  the 
licence  of  the  latter,  appear  to  have  anticipated 
the  modern  Carnival. 

The  first  gladiatorial  combat  which  took  place 
at  Rome  is  said  to  have  been  exhibited  in  the 
Forum  Boarium  by  D.  Junius  Brutus  at  the 
funeral  of  his  father,  b.c.  264.'  These  shows 
appear  to  have  been  afterwards  frequent  in  the 
Roman  Forum.  On  the  death  of  M.  Aemilius 
Lepidus,  b.c.  216,  his  three  sons  exhibited  funeral 
games  and  twenty-two  pairs  of  gladiators  for 
three  days  in  the  Forum.  Other  similar  occasions 
are  mentioned  by  Livy,  among  which  was  the 
funeral  of  P.  Licinius  Crassus,  pontifex  maximus, 
B.C.  183,  when  an  hundred  and  twentv  o-iadiators 

=»■  'Eoprr)  St  avTiov  {twp  ^laXicjp)  lari  irtpi  ra  UavaBifvaia  r<p  koKoo- 
Hiv<{i  Mapruii  fiijvi,  StifioreXi/Q  ^m  ttoWuc  W^pag  ayofiivi),  iv  alg  Sid  n/t.- 
7r6\(u)g  dyovffi  rovg  x^povs  t'c  rt  ri/p  eiyopdv  Kai  to  KamruiXiov  Kcii 
iroWovf:  dWovg  iSiovg  Tt  Kai  Sii^otriovQ  tottovq,  x^rCjvaQ  ttoikIXovq  ^aX- 
KiaiQ  fir'iTpaig  Kare'^MfTuhoi,  ktX.     Dionys.  ii.  70. 

»  DioCass.  xliv.  11 ;  Sueton.  lul.  79. 

»  D.  lunius  Brutus  munus  gladiatorium  in  honorem  defuncti  patris 
edidit  primus.     Liv.  Epit.  xvi. 

Gladiatorium  munus  primuni  lioniae  datum  est  in  foro  boario 
App.  Claudio  M.  Fulvio  coss.    Valer.  Max.  ii.  4.  7. 


GLADIATORIAL  GAMES. 


93 


fought,  the  games  l)eing  continued  for  three  days  chap.  ii. 
and  followed  by  a  public  banquet  in  the  Forum. 
The  funeral  2:ames  c-iven  bv  T.  Flamininus  on 
the  death  of  his  father,  B.C.  174,  included  ludi 
scenici  as  well  as  gladiators.^'"  This  employment 
of  the  Forum  continued  to  the  end  of  the  republic. 
Julius,  on  the  occasion  of  his  accumulated  tri- 
umphs, exhibited  gladiatorial  games  in  the  Forum, 
in  which  some  noble  Romans  took  ])art,  and  a 
Pyrrhic  dance  was  performed  by  children  of 
Asiatic  and  Bithynian  princes.^ 

It  was  probably  at  this  festival  that  Caesar  Forum  co- 
surprised  the  Roman  pul)lic  by  covering  for  the  a^vnin-s. 
first  time  the  whole  Forum  and  its  approaches, 
from  the  Regia  to  the  Capitol,  with  awnings.  At 
a  gladiatorial  exhibition  given  by  Caesar,  or  in  his 
honour,  an  altar  is  saidby  Pliny  to  have  been  cleared 
away  from  the  Lacus  Curtius.^'  Cicero  in  one  of 
his  orations  mentions  the  railings  which  were  put 
up  on  these  occasions  in  the  Forum,  and  the 
stands  for  spectators  on  the  Capitoline  Hill.^ 

We  have  seen  that  as  late  as  the  last  years  of 


220 


M.  Aemilio  Lepido,  qui  bis  consul  augurque  fuerat,  filii  trcs, 
Lucius,  Marcus,  Quintus,  ludos  funebros  per  triduum  et  gladiatorum 
])aria  duo  et  viginti  per  triduum  in  foro  dederunt.  Liv.  xxiii.  30. 
Id.  xxxi.  50;  xxxix.  46;  xli.  28.     Vitruv.  v.  1.  (Xote  142  ) 

'  Munere  in  foro  depugnavit  Furius  Leptinus  stirpe  praetoria,  et 
Q.  Calpenus  senator  quondam  actorque  causarum.  Pyrrhicam  salta- 
vcrunt  Asiae  Bitliyniaeque  principum  liberi.     Sueton.  Jul.  39. 

-  Mox  Caesar  dictator  totum  forum  Romanum  intexit,  viamque 
sacram  ab  dorao  sua  ad  clivum  usque  Capitolinum,  quod  munere 
ipso  gladiatorio  niirabilius  visum  tradunt.  Plin.  N.  H.  xix.  6.  lb.  xv. 
20.    (Note  1G2.)     Seep.  74 

^  Maximum  vero  populi  Iloninni  indicium  universe*  consessu  tda- 


94 


THE  ROMAN  FOllUM. 


CHAP.  II.  Cicero,  when  the  honour  of  a  statue  in  the  Forum 
was  decreed   to   Sulpicius,   a  space   around   the 
pedestal  was  reserved  for  his  posterity  to  view 
the   gladiatorial   games.     Even    in    the   time    of 
Augustus  the  use   of  the  Forum  for   shows  of 
wild    beasts    and    gladiators    was   not   o])solete, 
although  the  Circus,  the  Septa,  and  the  amphi- 
theatres   provided   a    more    convenient   stage.''' 
Tiberius,    during   the    rule    of  Augustus,    after 
assuming  the  toga  virilis,  exhibited  two  sej)arate 
gladiatorial    shows    in    memory    of   his    fiither, 
Nero,  and  of  his  grandfather,  Drusus,  the  first  in 
the   Forum,   the   second   in   the   Amphitheatre/ 
During    the    aedileship    of    Marcellus,   b.c.    24, 
games    were    exhibited    in    the    Forum     w^hich 
included  a  Roman  knight  and  a  noble  lady  intro- 
duced  as  dancers,  the  Forum  being  covered  with 
an  awning,  which   was   allowed   to   remain   the 
whole  summer.'     The   games  at  the  funeral  of 

diatorio  declaratum  est  .  .  .  Venit,  ut  scitis  (Sextius),  ad  columnam 
Maeniam.  Tantus  est  ex  omnibus  spectaculis  usque  a  Capitolio, 
tantus  ex  fori  cancellis  plausus  excitatus,  etc.     Cic.  p.  Sexr.  .58. 

«*  [VENATIONES  .  BKSTIaJrvM  ,  AFBICANARVM  .  IN  CIRCO  .  AVT  . 
IN  .  FORO  .  AVT  IN  .  AMPHITHEATRIS  .  POPVLO  .  DEDI  .  SEXIENS  .  ET 
VICIENS  .  QUIBUS   .  CONFECTA        SUNT  .  BESTIARVM  .  CIRCITER  .  TRIA 

MiLOA  .  ET  .  QuiNGENTAE.  Mon.  Aiicjr.  Fecitquo  (Augustus 
ludos)  .  .  .  non  in  foro  inodo  nee  in  aniphitbeatro,  sod  et  in^Circo 
et  in  Septis.     Sueton.  Aug.  43. 

'  Munus  gladiatorium  in  memoriam  patris  et  alterum  in  avi  Drusi 
dedit  diversis  temporibus  et  locis,  primum  in  foro,  secundum  in  am- 
phitheatro.     Sueton.  Tib.  7. 

«  ('O  Avyov<TTOs)  Ti)v  eopT,)v,  i)v  U  n/c  dyopopofuat:  ^^iriXsi  (6  Map- 
«\\oO  m>vSia9dg  \afnrp{og,  d>aTe  rr,v  rs  dyopdv  tv  navri  ri^e^pnlv  irapa- 
ir^rdrr^iam  Kara  'Kopv4>,)v  ^iuXa^elv,  Kai  6pxvrru,v  nva  inma,  yvvaiKu  r. 
iTupavn  k  Tt)v  6pxn(TTpav  faayayelv,  ofnog,  ktX.   DIo  Cass.  llii.  .31. 


<! 


CORONATION  OF  TIRIDATES. 


95 


M.  Agrippa,  b.c.  12,  were  at  the  Septa,  and  not  in  chap.  ii. 
the  Forum,  both  for  the  greater  honour  of  the 
deceased  and  because  many  of  the  tabernae  of  the 
Forum  had  been  destroyed  by  tire.^^' 

An  historical  drama  w^as  enacted  in  the  Forum,  Coronation 
which  Suetonius  very  appropriately  mentions  ^^t*"^ 
among  the  spectacles  provided  for  the  gratifi- 
cation of  the  Roman  people,  when  Nero  crowned 
Tiridates  as  King  of  Armenia.  On  the  night 
before  the  ceremony  the  city  was  illuminated,  the 
Mid-Forum  was  crowded  with  citizens  in  white 
togas  with  chaplets  of  laurel,  the  temples  around 
were  filled  with  soldiers  in  their  most  splendid 
armour,  the  very  roofs  of  the  buildings  were  hid- 
den by  s])ectators.  Nero,  accompanied  by  the 
Senate  and  his  Praetorian  guard,  came  into  the 
Forum  at  break  of  day,  and  took  his  seat  on  the 
Rostra  in  a  curule  chair  in  habit  of  triumph, 
surrounded  l)y  military  ensigns  and  flags.  The 
king,  on  appearing  before  the  Rostra  and  making 
his  ol)eisance,  was  received  with  such  a  shout 
as  for  a  time  unnerved  him.  When  he  had  re- 
covered his  self-possession,  he  approached  the 
Rostra  by  a  sloping  platform  erected  for  the  pur- 
pose, and,  kneeling  at  the  emperor's  feet,  was 
raised  and  saluted  with  a  kiss.  He  then  prayed  for 
his  crown,  the  words  of  his  prayer  being  repeated 

"^  'Ettit^ioi  tiri  ry  'kypiinrq,  birXo^axiai  .  .  .  tv  toIq  SfTrrott:,  ^id  re 
Ti)v  Trpog  TOP  'AypiTTTTav  ti^))v  Kai  hd  to  TroXXd  tu>v  xfpi  Hjv  dyopdv 
oiKoSfffidriup  K€Kav(T9ai,  ly'tvovTo.     Dio  Cass.  Iv.  8. 


9G 


THE  ROMAN  FORUM. 


CHAR  II.  and  translated  to  the  crowd,  and  the  diadem  was 
placed  on  his  head  by  the  emperor.  A  similar 
scene  was  repeated  at  the  theatre,  where  Nero 
seated  the  king  by  his  side.  After  this  pageant 
Nero  ordered  the  Janus  Geminus  to  ])e  closed.^^^ 

The  period  of  the  Flavian  emperors  witnessed 
the  construction  of  the  great  public  amphitheatre, 
and  it  may  be  assumed  that  the  use  of  the  Forum 
for  any  theatrical  purpose,  if  it  had  not  already 
become  obsolete,  then  entirely  ceased. 

"»  Non  immerito  inter  spectacula  ab  eo  edita  et  Tiridatis  in  urbem 
introitum  retulerim.  Quern  Arineniae  regeni  ....  produxit  .... 
dispositis  circa  fori  templa  armatis  cohortibus,  ciiruli  residens  apud 
rostra  triumpliantis  habitu  inter  signa  militaria  atque  vexilla;  et 
primo  per  devexum  pulpitum  subeuntem  admisit  ad  genua  adleva- 
tumque  dextra  exosculatus  est,  dein  precanti  tiara  deducta  diaderaa 
imposuit  .  .  .  .  ob  quae  .  .  .  lanum  Geminum  clausit  tarn  nullo  quani 
residuo  bello.     Sueton.  Ner.  13. 

Kai  TTuoa  fitv  7)  ttoXiq  tKBKoa^tijTo  Kai  (pioffi  Kal  ffrftpavibfiamv,  01  re 
avBpioTToi  TToWol  Travraxoh  kopCjVTO,  fidXitTTO  St  i)  dyopu  *7r€7rX/ypwro.  To 
^ifv  yap  fdaov  aimiQ  6  Cifnog  Xtvx^ifiovatv  Kai  Sa<pvi)(pQpu)V  Kara  riXi]  flyf, 
rd  Sf  dXXa  oi  (TTpaTiutrai  XafiTrpoTara  MTrXirrfxsvoi  ktX.     Dio  Cass.  Ixiii.  4. 


1 


97 


CHAP. 
III. 


Forum 
uni. 


CHAPTER  irr. 

THE  SOUTH-EASTERN  DIVISION  OF  THE  FORUM. 

t 

The  part  of  the  Forum  which  remains  to  be  de- 
scri])ed  is  that  lying  to  the  south-east  of  the  Vicus 
Tuscus  and  of  the  transverse  limb  of  the  Sacra  i^Z 
Via.  The  residence  in  this  quarter  of  the  Pontifex 
Maximus  and  the  Vestal  Virgins,  persons  of  the 
Iiighest  rank  and  treated  with  the  greatest  vene- 
ration, appears  to  have  extended  a  certain  deco- 
rum in  their  neighbourhood,  which  was  the  resort 
in  the  time  of  Plautus  of  the  more  respectable 
frequenters  of  the  Forum. 

In  foro  infinio  boni  homines  atque  dites  ambnlant.229 

Adjoining  the  Vicus  Tuscus,  but  facing  the  open  Temple  of 
area,  was  one  of  the  most  magnificent  of  the  monu-  ^'^'^''' 
ments  of  tlie  Forum.    Its  site  has  long  been  distin- 
guished ])y  the  three  marl)le  Corinthian  columns 
in  a  line,  which  formed  one  of  the  landmarks  of 
the  Campo  Vaccino,  and  were  formerly  known  hy 
the  name  of  the  Temple  of  Jupiter  Stator.    Canina 
for  a  time  identified  this  ruin  with  the  Curia  Julia. 
It  is  now  recognised  as  the  Temple  of  Castor  and 
Pollux,  tlie  divine  twins  whose  supernatural  inter- 
position is  so  curiously  interwoven  with  the  tra- 
ditions  of  the  early  struggles   of  Rome.      The 


yjfl 


Plant.  Curculio,  iv.  1.     (Xoto  97.) 
II 


98 


CdAP. 
III. 


Tradition 
of  the  spot. 


Pool  of 
Jutunui. 


THE  ROMAN  FOllUM. 

complete  disinterment  of  the  Basilica  Julia,  and 
the  furtlier  explorations  wliicli  have  l)rou2:ht  to 
light  the  remains  of  the  Temples  of  Julius  and 
Vesta,  have  placed  this  identification  beyond 
doubt/'' 

The  well-known  legend  of  the  appearance  of  the 
Dioscuri  at  the  battle  of  the  Lake  Regillus,  and 
of  the  hoof-marks  left  by  the  horse  of  Castor  in 
the  rock,  is  alluded  to  by  Cicero.^^  Livv  tells  us 
only  that  the  dictator  A.  Postumius  Avas  said  to 
have  vowed  a  temple  to  Castor  during  the  light, 
but  Dionysius  and  Plutarch  relate  the  presence  of 
the  two  horsemen  at  the  battle,  and  their  later 
apparition  in  the  Forum,  where  they  Avashed  their 
horses  at  the  spring  which  made  a  pool  near  the 
Temple  of  Vesta,  and  announced  the  result  of 
the  war  to  the  crowdJ     The  dedication  of  the 

22S  Monum.  Ancyr.  (Note  100);  Dionys.  vi.  13.  (Note  231);  Plu- 
tarch. Coriol.3.  (Note  231)  ;  Mart.  Ep.  i.  71,  3.  (Note  262). 

30  Ergo  et  illud  in  silice  quod  hodie  apparet  apud  Kegilluin  tan- 
quain  vestigium  nngulae,  Castoris  equi  eredis  esse  ?  Cic.  de  nat. 
Deor.  iii.  5. 

'  Ibl  nihil  nee  divinae  nee  humanne  opis  dictator  praetermittens 
aedem  Castori  vovisse  fertur.     Liv.  ii.  20. 

'Ef  Ti)  'Viofiaiiov  ayo^q.  tuv  aiirov  TpoTrov  6(p9iivai  cvo  veaviffKoi 
X'fyovTai  .  .  Tovg  'iTnrovQ  i^oCjti  Sia(3p6xovg  tTrayofievoi'  (wavritj  ct  Tutv 
'iinrujv  tKUTfpoi  icai  a'n-ovi\pavT€g  aTro  rz/t;  XifSddog,  i)  Trapa  to  'npuv  rnc 
'F.(TTiag  avaSiSwai,  \t^vt]v  Troiovaa  tf.ijiv9iov  oXiyijp  ....  ri'iv  rf  udxtiv 
avTolg  ^pd'i^ovffiv  wQ  tyivero  Kai  on  vikukjiv  ....  TaiirtjQ  l<TTi  rtjg 
tTTt^aveiag  tv  "Pwjwy  iroWd  <T;;/<Ha,  o  re  vemq  o  tmv  AiocTKovpwv,  ov  tni  tT^q 
dyopdg  KaTe(TK€va(T€P  //  TroXtf,"  tvOa  io(*>Bi]  rd  f-ldioXa^  Kai  //  irap'  avrto 
Kpi)vt]  KciXovfiavr]  re  riov  QeCJv  rovriov  lepd  Kai  elg  Toce  \p6vov  vouuouh'ii, 
ktX.     Dioiiys.  vi.  13. 

'Ev  tKcivy  ^t   rj/  fidx^j  Kai  rove  AtonKopovi:  kTTKpai'tjPai  Xiyovm,  Kai  fierd 


TEMPLE  OF  CASTOR. 


99 


, 


temple  on  the  spot  where  they  aj)peared  is  said  to     chap. 
have  been    made   fifteen   years  after  the  battle,       — 
B  c.  482,  l)y  the  son  of  the  dictator/'-     A  similar 
ai)parition  of  the  Dioscuri  at  the  same  place  was 
said  to  have  made  known  the  victorv  gained  in 
Macedonia  by  Paullus  Aemilius  over  Perseus.^ 

The  Temple  of  Castor  was  rebuilt  l^y  L.  Me-  Temple 
telhis  Dalmaticus,  consul  p.c.  119;'  and,  whatever  u^^n^ 
may  have  been  the  character  of  the  original 
temple,  the  edifice  of  Metellus  was  one  of  con- 
sideralile  size  and  im])ortance,  and  was  frequently 
used  for  the  meetings  of  the  Senate.'  The  expense 
ai)j)ears  to  have  been  provided  out  of  the  Dal- 
matian prize  money,  since  Cicero  accuses  Verres 

T,)p  fidxni'  et'Oi's  6(per,vai  peofiivoig  icpu^ri  role  'iirTroit^  Iv  dyop^  t,)i^  v!ktjv 
dTrayylXXoi'Tac,  0^-  vT'j^  Trapd  t,)v  Kp,)vn7'  vetog  itrrir  aiWoTc:  iCpvfievog. 
Plutarch.  Coriol.  3. 

Castoreni  vero  et  Pollucem  etia.n  illo  tempore  pro  imperio  populi 
Komani  excubuisse  cognitum,  quo  ad  lacura  luturnae  suum  equo- 
rumque  sudorem  abluere  visi  sunt;  iunctaque  fonti  aedes  eorum 
nullius  hominum  nianu  reserata  patuit.     Valer.  Max.  i.  8.  i, 

^'•^  Castoris  aedes  eodem  anno  idibus  Quintilibus  dedicata  est. 
Vota  erat  Latino  bello,  Postumlo  dictatore :  filius  eius  duumvir  ad 
id  ipsum  creatus  dedicavit.     Liv.  ii.  42. 

'  Eodem  die  quo  victus  Perses  in  Macedonia,  Romae  cognitum 
est.  Duo  iuvenes  candidis  equis  apud  luturnae  lacum  pulve°rem  et 
cruorem  abluebant;  hi  nuncitavere.  Castorem  et  Pollucem  fuisse 
<3reditum  vulgo.     Flor.  Epit.  ii.  12. 

*  L.  ipse  Metellus,  avus  huius,  sanctissimos  deos  illo  constituisse  in 
templo  videtur  in  vestro  conspectu,  indices,  ut  salutem  a  vobis 
nepotes  sui  deprecarentur.     Cic.  pro  Scauro,  46. 

Castoris  et  Pollucis  templum  Metellus,  quem  nominat,  refecit. 
Asconius  in  Cic.  pro  Scauro,  46. 

'  In   aede  Castoris  celeberrimo   clarissimoque  monumento, 
quo  saepenumero  Senatus  convocatur,  rpio  maximarum  rerum  fiv- 
quentissimae  quotidie  advocationes  fiunt.     Cic.  in  Verr   II.  i.  49 

H  2 


100 


THE  ROMAN  FORUM. 


CHAP. 
III. 


230 


r^xtoition 
of  Verres. 


Contract 
for  imiin 


of  making-  ]>lunder  out  of  the  plunder  of  Metellus. 
The  extortion  alleged  to  have  l)een  committed 
by  Verres  in  connection  with  this  temj)le  throws 
some  h'ght  upon  the  character  of  the  building  as 
well  as  upon  the  system  adopted  hy  the  Romans 
for  keeping  their  public  edifices  in  repair.  It  is 
worth  while  to  follow  the  story  as  told  hy  Cicero. 
._.     The  censors  had  entered  into  a  contract  with  a 

Spfe''    ^'^'^^''^"^  ^'  '^^^^^i^^S'  ^^  person  of  middle  rank,  pro- 
bably a  builder  or  contractor  l)y  trade,  to  take 
charge  of  the  Temple  of  Castor  and  keep  it  in 
repair,  the  statues  and  treasures  of  the  temple 
being  also  delivered  into  his  charge.    Junius  died 
leaving  a  son,  a  minor,  and  the  charge  of  the 
temple    was   transferred    to    one    L.    Ra])onius. 
Verres,   as  Praetor    Urbanus,  had  with  his  col- 
league,    by  decree    of   the    Senate,   the    special 
cognizance   of  the   repairs   of  public   buildings. 
He  summons  Rabonius  before  him,  and  asks  him 
what  can   be  required  from  the  minor  that  had 
not  been  delivered.     The  answer  was  that  no  sort 
of  difficulty  had  arisen,  the  statues  and  gifts  were 
all  forthcoming,  and  the  building  was  in  perfect 
repair.    Verres,  thinking  it  intolerable  that  out  of 
so  great  a  temple  and  so  large  a  contract  he  should 
not  obtain  some  plunder,"  especially  as  he  bad  a 

■^^  Dubitamus  quid  iste  in  Lostium  praeda  molitussit,  qui  manubias 
sibi  tantas  ex  L.  Metelli  manubiis  fecerit  ?     Cic.  in  Verr  II   i  59 

•  Indignum  isti  videri  coepit  ex  tanta  aede  tantoque  opere  se  non 
opnnum  praeda  praesertim  a  pupillo  discedere.     Cic.   in  Verr  ib  50 


MAINTENANCE  OF  TEMPLES. 

minor  to  deal   with,  goes  himself  to  inspect  the 
building.     He  looks  round,  sees  the  roof  beauti- 
fully ceiled,  everything  else  in  excellent  condition.^^ 
"  The  only  thing  you  can  do  here,"  suggests  a 
sharp  adviser,  "is  to  require  the  columns  to  be 
made  jierpendicular."^     Not  having  much  know- 
ledge of  such  matters,  Verres  asks  what  is  the 
meaning  of  the  phrase.     It  is  explained  to  him 
that  scarcely  any  columns  can  be  exactly  perpen- 
dicular.    "  Be  it  so,"  says  he,  "  then  let  these  be 
made  so."     The  new  contractor  has  no  wish  to 
require  it,  as  he  knows  that  in  Junius's  contract, 
though    the    number  of  columns    was    specified, 
there  was  nothing  said  about  the  perpendicular, 
and  he  has  no  desire  to  have  any  such  matter 
introduced   into  the  new  contract.     He  is  over- 
borne by  Verres,  and  makes  a  demand  upon  the 
minor  accordingly.      The   tutores  of  the  minor, 
after  trying  in  vain  to  obtain  an  alteration  in  the 
decision  of  the  praetor,  agree  with  Rabonius  to 
])ay  him  200,000  sesterces.     Verres  disapproves 
the  compromise,  and  orders  Rabonius  to  renounce 
it.     He  then   puts  uj)   the  work  to  pul)lic  com- 
petition without  due  delay  or  notice,  in  the  midst 
of  the   festivities   of  the   Ludi   Romani.^*'     The 

-^  Videt  undique  tectum  pulcherrinie  laqueatum,  praeterea  caetera 
nova  atque  integra.     Cic.  in  Verr.  II.  i.  51. 

'^  Nihil  habcs  nisi  forte  vis  ad  perpendiculum  coluuinas  exigcre. 
Cic.  in  Verr.  ib. 

'"  Ip.'C  vero  non  procrastinat,  locare  inci[)it  non  proscripta  neque 
edicta  die,  ludis  ipsis  llomanis  fore  ornato.     Cic.  in  Verr.  ib.  54. 


101 


CHAP. 
IIJ. 


102 


THE  ROMAN  FORUM. 


v> 


CHAP,     tutors  hasten  to  the  spot,  and  bid  in  the  name  of 
—      their  ward,  offering  to  complete  the  work  to  the 
praetor's  satisfaction  for  80,000  sesterces.  Verres, 
seeing  that,  if  the  contract  is  let  to  the  minor,  he 
can  obtain  no  profit  out  of  it,  makes  an  order 
prohibiting  the  original  contractor  from  having 
any  part  in  the  new  contract,  and  lets  out  the 
work  to  Eabonius  at  560,000  sesterces,  ordering 
this  sum  to  be  forthwith  paid  out  of  the  minor's 
estate.     The  greater  part  of  this  amount  finds  its 
way  into  the  praetor's  own  hands.     The    work 
t/ro^the   ^^^''^^b  Jone  to  the  temple  Cicero  describes  to 
^J:'"   ^^^  audience:    ^' Those   columns  which  you  see 
fresh   whitened  have  been   taken   down   by  ma- 
chinery, and  erected  again  with  the  same  stones. 
Nay,  some  of  the  columns  have  not  been  disturbed. 
There  is  one  from  which  the  old  stucco  only  has 
been  removed,  and  new  stucco  applied.  To  furnish 
one  such  column  new  would  be  as  nuich  work  as 
to   replace   those   four;    and   I   could  show  you 
columns  not  less  than  these  in  private  buildings, 
where  the   carriage  was  long  and  difficult,  that 
have  been  put  up  new  for  40,000  sesterces." 


'241 


•-'^'  Onines  iUae  columnae  quas  dealbatas  videtis,  machina  apposif-i 
nulla  impensa  delectae,  eisde.nque  lapidibus  repositae  sunt.  Hoc  tu 
H.  S.  lOLx  mlllibus  locavisti:  atqui  in  illis  columnis  dico  esse,  quae 
a  tuo  redemptore  commotae  non   sint :    dIco  esse,  ex  qua  tantum 

tectorium  vetus  delituiu  sit,  et  novum  inductum Utrum  existi- 

niatis  minus  operis  esse,  unam  columnam  effieere  ah  integro  novam 
nullo  lapide  redevivo,  an  quatuor  illas  reponere?     Nemo  dubitat 
quin  niulto  maius  sit  nevam  facere.     Ostendam   in  ao.libus  privatis' 


TEMPLE  OF  CASTOR. 

We  may  conjecture  from  this  description  that 
the  colimms  of  the  buildinii;  of  Metellus  were 
of  stone  covered  with  fine  white  stucco,  like 
those  of  the  round  temple  at  Tivoli.  I  do  not 
know  whether  we  should  infer  from  Cicero's  re- 
ference to  "  those  four  columns  "  that  the  portico 
was  tetrastyle,  or  (as  is  more  probable)  that  four 
columns  only  out  of  a  larger  number  had  been  re- 
placed. The  comparison  of  the  columns  of  the 
temple  with  those  of  private  edifices,  of  which  the 
orator  knew  the  cost,  may  serve  to  indicate  the 
enormous  advance  in  luxurv  and  mao-nificence 
which  had  l)een  made  in  the  last  two  generations. 

The  temple  of  Castor,  with  its  lofty  steps  and 
commanding  situation,  was  always  one  of  the 
most  conspicuous  objects  of  the  Forum, '*^  and 
became  in  turbulent  times  a  position  of  great 
political  im])ortance.  Popular  assemblies  were 
frequently  held  in  front  of  it,  w^hen  its  terrace 
and  steps  served  the  purpose  of  Rostra..  Sulla 
and  Q.  Pompeius  Rufus,  during  their  consulship, 
B.C.  88,  were  holding  a  meeting  here,  when  they 
were  attacked  by  the  tribune  Sulpicius  and  the 
partisans  of  Marius.  In  the  riot  that  ensued, 
L.  Pompeius,  the  consul's  son,   was  killed,  and 

longa  difficilique  vectura,  columnas  singulas  ad  inipluvium  H.  S. 
quadraginta  millibus,  non  minus  magnas,  locatas.  Cic.  in  Verr.  II.  i. 
55,  56. 

■**■-  Vosque,    omnium  rerum    forensium,    consiliorum    maximorum 
legum,  iudicioruuKiue  arbitri  et  testes,  celoberrimo    in  loco  populi 
Romani  locati.  Castor  et  Pollux,  etr.     Cic.  in  Verr.  v.  72. 


103 


CHAP. 
III. 

Architec- 
tural de- 
tails of  the 
older  tem- 
ple. 


Political 
importance 
of  the 
Temple  of 
Castor, 


Mfc—I 


104 


THE  llOMAN  FORUM. 


CHAP 
III. 


Occupa- 
tion of  the 
temple  by 
Clodius. 


Sulla  was  forced  to  take  refuo-e  in  the  Louse  of 
Marius.^^^ 

The  contest  between  Cato  and  Metellus  respect- 
ing the  recall  of  Pompeius  from  Asia  took  place 
upon  the  terrace  before  this  temple,  into  which, 
at  one  period  of  the  proceedings,  Cato  was  carried 
for  safety  by  the  consul  Murena.^ 

It  was  here  that  Caesar,  as  consul,  proposed  his 
agrarian  law,  and  was  opposed  by  his  colleague 
Bibulus,  who  w^as  pushed  down  the  steps  and 
driven  from  the  Forum. ^ 

In  the  following  year,  during  the  troubled 
consulate  of  Piso,  when  Cicero's  banishment  was 
in  agitation,  the  temple  was  occupied  by  Clodius 
with  his  armed  followers  ;  its  steps  were  torn  up 
and  removed,  and  the  building  became,  in  the  lan- 
guage of  Cicero,  a  sort  of  citadel  or  fortified  posi- 
tion in  the  hands  of  his  political  adversaries.^ 

When  in  the  next  year  Cicero's  recall  was  pro- 
posed by  Fabricius,  the  tribune  Sextius  coming  to 

2"  'ETrayaywv  arrotg  €KK\r](naZov(Ti  Trepi  tov  vewv  tCjv  AiorrKouptov  oxXov, 
dWovg  re  iroWovg  Kai  to  UofiTrtjiov  tov  vttutov  fietpciKiov  ini  tFk;  dyopa^ 
dvelXev,  ktX.     Plutarch.  Sulla.  8. 

*  'Qg  ovv  €7nfTTdg  6  Kutiov  Karelde  tov  vsmv  tCjv  AioaKoopwv  oTrXoig 
Trepiexofievov  Kai  Tag  dvajidaeig  ^povpovfitimg  vtto  fxopofidxojv,  avrov  Se 
KaGijfdvov  dvu)  fieTU  Kaiaapog  tov  MheWov,  ktX  .  .  .  dfxa  c  evOvg 
tf3dSiiev  fiCTd  tov  Ofpfiov,  Kai  hf(TTij(Tav  ai'Tolg  tKelvoi  oi  Tag  dva(3daei£ 
KaTexovTeg,  ktX.     Plut.  Cat.  Min.  28. 

*  Kai  Trpbg  to  AioaKovpeiov  dip'  ovirep  eKelvog  ec^///t/;yo,uei,  (6  Bil3ovXog) 
hfjiTzeae'  .  .  .  djg  Sk  dvio  re  eyfvcTO  Kai  dvTiXkyeiv  iTreipdTO,  avTog  re  kotu 
Twv  dvajiaa^uiv  €wd,f  Kai  pdji^oi  avTOv  <TVveTpii3r](Tav.  Dio  Cass, 
xxxviii.  6.     Appian.  Bell.  Civ.  ii.  11. 

«  Arma  in  tcniplo  Castoris  .  .  .  constituebantur  ab  eo  latronc, 
cui  tenipluin  illud  fuit,  te  consult',  arx  civium  perditorum,  reccptacu- 


TEMPLE  OF  CASTOR. 


105 


see  one  of  the  consuls  at  this  temple  was  attacked    chap. 
and  nearly  killed  by  the  partisans   of  Clodius,      — 
who  were  armed,   some  with  swords  and   some 
with  fragments  of  the  septa  or  polling-pens  of 
the  Forum. ^'' 

Upon  the  arrival  of  Octavianus  in  the  year  of 
Caesar's  death,  he  was  brought  into  the  city  by 
the  tri])une  Canutius,  and  they  both  harangued 
the  people  against  Antony  from  the  steps  of 
Castor,  the  temple  being  surrounded  by  soldiers 
with  their  weapons  concealed.^ 

The  Temi)le  of  Castor  was  among  the  numer-  Kebuiidin,. 
ous  pu])Iic  edifices  which  were  rebuilt  in  the  time  litaT' 
of  Augustus.     Tliis  was  done  by  Ti])erius  in  his  '^"^"'^"'• 
own  name  and  that  of  his  brother  Drusus  out  of 
the  spoils  of  the  German  campaign.^     The  exist- 

lun.  veterum  Catalinae  militum,  castellum  forensis  latrocinii,  bustum 
legum  omnium  ac  reli-ionum.     Cic.  in  Pis.  5. 

lisdem  consulibus,  arma  in  templo  Castoris  palam  comportabantur 
.radus  ciusdem  templi  tollebantur,  armati  homines  forum'e t  concionT: 
tcnobant.     Cic.  pro  Sextio,  15. 

Ciuum  arma  in  aedem  Castoris  comportabas  .  .  .  duun.  vero 
pdusCastons  convellisti  ac  removisti,  tum  ut  modeste  tibi  a^e  e 
bceret,  honnnes  audaces  ab  cius  ten.pli  aditu  atque  adscensu  rcpubsti ' 
Cic.prodomosua,  21.     See  before,  p  81.  ^ 

J  Itaque  A^ctus  sanctitate  tribunatus  .  .  .  venit  in  templum  Cas- 
tons     obnuntiav.t  consuli,  cum   subito   manus   ilia  Clodiana 

ZlfhL  '  r  '"  ^'''"  ^J-i-tur,  alii  fragmentis  septorun.  'et 
fu.t.bu  C.c.  pro  Sext.0,  37.  Cic  ad  Q.  frat.  ii.  3.  (Note  96.) 
See  further,  as  to  the  septa  of  the  Forum,  p.  142. 

«  'Ug  ie  ,;rrr,X9ov,  6  ^ev  eig  tov  vc^v  to^v  A.orrKovp.v  ^apr^XOe,  Kai  t6v 
ve.v  .epunTn.av  o.  arp«re.o/-.o,  ^,p^,a  d^pav^g  n.puK.a^.o.  Ka- 
vovuog^e  TrpoTepov  Icn^v'^i  KaTa  tov 'Avtu^v.ov  6  Se  Kai  tov  ^utpoc 
avTOvg  vTTffiipvnnKe,  ktX.      Appian.  iJell.  Civ.  iii    41 

"  Dedicavit  et  Concordiae  aedem,  iteui  PoUucis  et  Castoris  suo 
fratrisque  nomme  do  manubiis.     Sueton.  Tib.  20. 


CHAP. 
111. 


Ptilacc  of 
Calij^ula. 


lOG  THE  ROMAN  FOUUM. 

ing  marble  columns  are  probably  a  relic  of  tliis 
maornificent  restoration.  The  dedication  to  the 
two  brother  gods  by  the  imperial  brothers  is  thus 
mentioned  by  Ovid. 

At  quae  Venturas  praecedit  sexta  kalendas 
Hac  sunt  Ledaeis  templa  dicata  deis. 

Fratribus  ilia  deis  fratres  de  gente  deorum 
Circa  luturnae  coni})osuere  lacus.'-^^'^ 

This  temple  was  the  scene  of  one  of  the 
strangest  freaks  of  the  Emperor  Caligula,  who 
extended  a  part  of  the  buildings  of  the  Palatine 
towards  the  Forum,  and,  having  converted  the 
temple  into  a  sort  of  vestibule,  and  made  the 
Dioscuri  his  doorkeepers,  frequently  placed  him- 
self for  adoration  between  the  statues  of  the 
divine  twins.  Claudius  restored  the  temple  to 
its  former  state.^  The  ruined  walls  and  arches, 
not  far  from  the  back  of  the  temple,  are  probably 
remains  of  the  l)uildings  of  Caligula. 
Procession        An  annual  sacrifice  by  the  Roman  knights  took 

of  knif^hts         .  ..  ,  *^iti  pti*  i 

totheCas-  place  at  this  temple  on  the  Ides  oi  July  in  cele- 
emp  e.  j^j,^|.j^j^  ^£  ^^le  victoiy  of  the  Lake  Regillus.     The 

sacrifice  was  followed  by  a  procession  of  horse - 

-^0  Ovid.  Fast.  i.  705. 

•  Partem  Palatii  ad  forum  usque  promovit,  atque  aede  Castoris  et 
Pollucis  in  vestibulum  transfigurata,  consistens  saepe  inter  fratres 
deos  medium  adorandum  se  adeuntibus  exhibebat.    Sueton.  Calijr.  22. 

To  re  AioffKoiipeiov  to  e'v  ry  dyopq.  ry  'Viofiaiif,  ov  ciarefiutv,  Cia  fisffov 
tCov  dyaXficiTiou  eirrocov  h'  avTov  tg  to  llaXaTiov  tiroiiirraTO.,  oTrmg  Kai 
TTvXiopovr  Tovt;  Aioaicovpovg,  uKTye  Kal  tXeyti^,  tj^y.      Dio  Cass.  lix.  29. 

ATTH^wKe  ^'t  (o  KXavCiog)  Kai  toIij  AioaKovpoig  tov  peujv.  Dio  Cass. 
Ix.  6. 


I 


■ 


CHAP. 
III. 


Treasures 
deposited 
in  temples. 


PllOCESSION  OF  KNIGHTS.  107 

men,  in  which  it  is  said  that  ii\e  thousand  persons 
sometimes  took  part.  The  ranks  were  formed  at 
the  temple  of  Mars  outside  the  walls,  and  the 
knights,  all  clad  in  the  pm-ple  robe  called  t?^abea, 
marched  through  the  city  and  filed  in  front  of 
the  temple  of  the  Dioscuri,  presenting  a  pageant 
worthy,  in  the  opinion  of  Dionysius,  of  the  great- 
ness of  the  empire  of  Rome."'^ 

The  temple  of  Castor,  in  common  with  other 
religious  edifices,  was  used  as  a  repository  for 
private  treasures,  which  the  owners  were  afraid 
of  retaining  at  home,  although,  in  the  time  of 
Juvenal,  even  the  temples  and  statues  of  the  gods 
do  not  appear  to  have  been  secure  from  theft. 

Ad  vigilera  ponendi  Castora  numi , 
Ex  quo  Mars  Ultor  galeam  (pioque  perdidit  et  res 
Non  potuit  servare  suas.^ 

The  epithet  applied  by  Juvenal  to  Castor  has 
been  supposed  to  imply  that  special  watch  was 
kept  over  the  temple. 

This  temple,  though  dedicated  to  the  two  divi-  Tempic  of 
nities,  generally  bore  the  name  of  Castor  only,  a  p^J^x^' 
circumstance  whicli  was  happily  alluded  to  by 
Bibulus,  in  complaining  that  Caesar,  with  wliom 
he  was  aedile,  obtained  all  the  credit  of  their 
joint  expenses.  ^'  The  same  thing  has  happened 
to  me  as  to  Pollux."  he  said.  ''  The  temple  in  the 
Formii,  though  built  for  both  brothers,  is  called 


Dionvs.  vi.  i;{ 


'  Juvenal.  Sat.  xiv.  2(J0. 


108 


CHAP. 
Jll. 


Statue  (»!" 
Tretuuliis. 


Lane  coii- 
net'tiug  the 
Forum 
with  the 
Nova  Via. 


THE  ROMAN  FORUM. 

Castor's,  so  the  munificence  wiiicli  is  mine  and 
Caesar's  is  called  Caesar's."^'* 

In  front  of  this  temple  was  erected  the  eques- 
trian statue  of  Q.  Marcius  Tremulus,  consul  B.C. 
306,  the  conqueror  of  the  Hernici.'  Cicero  in  one 
of  his  Philippics  speaks  of  this  statue  as  still  to  be 
seen  in  its  place.  Pliny  mentions  it  as  an  early 
equestrian  statue,  clothed,  like  that  of  Romulus 
and  Camillus,  in  the  toga  without  the  tunic,  but 
not  as  existing  in  his  time.^  It  was  probably 
removed  on  the  occasion  of  the  rebuilding  of  the 
temple  by  Tiberius. 

The  space  in  front  of  the  steps  of  Castor,  beyond 
the  turn  in  the  street  which  has  been  already 
mentioned,  is  paved  with  travertine  as  a  foot- 
pavement  ;  but  on  the  south-east  side  of  the 
temple  we  come  to  the  end  of  a  lane  paved  as  a 
carriage-way.  The  state  of  the  excavations  does 
not  allow  us  to  trace  this  lane  for  more  than  a 
few  feet.  It  probably  communicated  by  a  cross 
street  at  the  back  of  the  temple  with  the  Vicus 


-'^  Evenisse  sibi  quod  Polluci :  ut  enim  geminis  fratribus  aedes  in 
loro  constituta  tantum  Castoris  vocaretur,  ita  suam  Cacsarisque 
munificentiam  unius  Caesarls  dici.  Sueton.  Caes.  10.  The  same 
sayinuj  is  repeated  by  Dio  Casis,  xxxvii.  8. 

^  Marcius  de  Hernicis  triumphans  in  urbem  rediit,  statuaque 
equestris  in  foro  decreta  est,  quae  ante  teinplum  Castoris  posita  est. 
Liv.  ix.  43 

«  In  foro  L.  Antonii  statuain  vidcmus,  sicut  illam  Q  Tremuli,  qui 
Hornicosdevicit,  ante  Castoris.     Cic.  Phil.  vi.  5. 

Ante  aedem  Castorum  luit  Q.  Marcii  Tremuli  equestris  togata 
Plin.  N.  H   xxxiv.  11.     See  Note  198 


i' 


\ 


i 


LAKE  OF  JUTURNA. 

Tuscus,  and  also  in  tlie  other  direction,  by  a 
steep  slope  or  steps,  with  the  Via  Nova,  which 
passed  at  a  higher  level  between  this  end  of  the 
Forum  and  the  Palatine  hill.-''  It  is  not  unlikely 
that  it  is  to  this  lane  that  Ovid  alludes  as  a  com- 
munication recently  made  between  the  Nova  Via 
and  the  Forum. 

Forte  revertebar  festis  Vestatibiis  iliac 

Qua  Nova  Romano  nunc  via  iuncta  foro  est. 
Hue  pede  matronam  vidi  descendere  imdo.^ 

The  formation  of  this  way  was  pro])ably  an 
improvement  connected  with  the  rebuilding  of  the 
Temple  of  Castor  by  Tiberius,  and  intended  to 
add  to  the  accommodation  of  the  Vestals,  whose 
liouse  adjoined  it.^ 

Near  the  end  of  this  lane,  and  about  twenty 
feet  from  the  eastern  corner  of  the  steps  of 
Castor,  are  the  remains  of  a  low  round  construc- 
tion, apparently  a  basin  of  water,  which  has  been 
identified  with  the  greatest  probability  as  the 
Lake  of  Juturna,  the  proximity  of  which  to  the 
temple  is  mentioned  by  Ovid.'*^  This  monument 
ap])ears  in  early  story  as  a  natural  spring  or  pool 
near  the  Temple  of  Vesta,  at  which  the  divine 
twins  were  seen  after  the  battle  of  the  Lake 
Regillus. '  It  was  probably  in  later  times  a  lacus 
or  basin  artificially  supplied  with  water. 

"•  See  Chapter  IX.  «  Ovid.  Fast.  vl.  S95. 

«  See  pp.  1 18,  124,  125.  -o  Ovid.  Fasti,  i.  705.     See  p.  lOG. 

•  Dionys.  vi.   13;  Plutarch.  Coriol.  3 ;  Val.  Max.  i.  8,  1    (Note 
231.) 


109 


CHAP. 
III. 


Lake  ol' 
Juturna. 


no 


THE  ROMAN  FORUM. 


TEMPLE  OF  VESTA. 


Ill 


CHAP. 
III. 

Temple  of 
Vesta. 


Temple  of 
Vest! 


About  twenty -five  feet  further  to  the  south- 
east is  tlie  ruined  podium  of  a  circular  building, 
which  can  scarcely  have  been  other  than  the 
Temple  of  Vesta  itself.  The  proximity  of  this 
Temple  to  that  of  Castor  is  testified  by  Martial : 

Qiiaeris  iter  ?  Dicam.   Vicinnm  Castora  canae 
Transibis  Yestae,  virgineamqiie  domiim.2<52 

We  have  also  seen  that  the  Lake  of  Juturna 

!l,   111 

the  Fornni.  was  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the  Temple  of 
Vesta,^  which  is  placed  by  Dionysius  in  the 
Forum,^  and  not,  as  some  modern  topographers 
have  placed  it,  "  somewhat  back  towards  the 
Palatine."^  This  latter  supposition,  which  would 
put  it  upon  higher  ground,  is  opposed  to  the  well- 
known  lines  of  Horace,  in  which  he  describes  the 
sanctuary  of  Vesta  and  the  Regia  as  threatened 
by  the  flood: 

Vidimus  fiavnm  Tiberim,  retortis 
Littore  Etrusco  violenter  undis, 
Ire  deiectum  moniimenta  Regis 
Templaqiie  Vestae.^ 

The  highest  recent  inundation  of  the  Tiber, 
flooding  the  excavated  Forum  through  the  Cloaca, 
has  reached   nearly,  if  not  quite,  to  the  base  of 

-*«  Mart.  Ep.  i.  71,  3. 

3  Dionys.  vi.  13.     (Note  231.) 

*  Dionys.  ii.  66.     (Note  4.) 

"•  Mr.  Dyer  in  Smith,  Diet.  Geog.  ii.  779.  Der  Tempel  selbst  aber 
reicbte  jedenfals  nicbt  bis  an  das  Forum,  sondern  lag  weiter  zuriick 
naeh  dem  Abhange  des  Palatin.  Becker,  Handbuch,  i.  223;  ib.  i. 
289.  «  Hor.  Od.  I.  ii.  13. 


Tiif 


\ 


the   circular   ruin    which    is   identified   with  the 
Temple  of  Vesta. 

Dionysius  observes,  as  an  argument  for  attri- 
buting the  origin  of  the  Temi)le  of  Vesta  to  Numa 
rather  than  to  Romulus,  that  it  was  outside  the 
Boma  qitadrata  fortified  by  the  latter,  whereas  a 
temple  of  the  hearth-goddess  would  certainly  be 
built  in  an  important  situation  within  the  walls.^" 
The  worship  of  Vesta,  the  goddess  of  the  hearth 
or  of  fire,  was  an  important  part  of  the  early  re- 
ligion of  Rome,  and  apparently  of  Latin  origin, 
derived  from  a  Tyrrhenian  or  Pelasgic  source.lhe 
name  of  the  goddess  being  equivalent  to  the  Greek 
earia.     It  will  be  remembered  that  Rhea  Sylvia, 
the   mother   of  Romulus,   was  described  in    the 
legend  as  a  Vestal  Virgin  of  Alba.     The  Vestals 
at  Rome  were  believed  to  have  been  instituted  by 
Numa.*^  They  were  persons  of  the  highest  rank  and 
official  consequence,  six  in  number,  and  lived  in  a 
house  close  to  the  temple.    The  importance  of  the 
worship  there  conducted  was  further  enhanced  by 
the  residence,  in  the  immediate  vicinity,  of  the 
Pontifex  Maximus,  the  chief  of  the  Roman  religion, 
who  was  considered  in  a  special  manner  devoted 


CHAP. 
III. 

Vesta,  out- 
side Koma 
Quadrata. 


Worship 
of  Vesta. 


Vestal 

Virgins. 


I*ontifex 
Maximus. 


267 


OiVc  ydp  TO  xiopiop  TOVTO  Iv  (^  TO  Upbv  <pv\dTT€Tai  ^>,  'PujfivXog  ,> 
o  KaOiepujffac  ry  Oet^'  ^lya  ^t  tovtov  T€Kiii,piov,  'on  t^q  TCTpayuiVov  KaXov 
fihrjQ  'VujfiJic  i)p  UfJpog  WeixiTev  Utoq  ttTTiv.  'EfTTiag  ci  Koivr,g  lepov  iv 
T,;  KpaTi(TTi{i  fidXifTTu  KaQicpvovTai  tFiq  TToXewQ  ilTravreg,  t^u,  St  rov  relvovr 
ovdetc.     Dionys.  ii.  60. 

"  Vir-inesque  Vestae   legit.  Alba  oriunduin  sacerdotium,  et  genti 
conditoris  baud  alienuni.     Liv.  i.  20.     Dionys.  ii.  65. 


112 


THE  ROMAN  FORUM. 


STATUES  OF  VESTA. 


113 


CHAP,     to  the  service  of  Vesta.     Ovid,  speakinix  of  the 
HI.  .       .  .  . 

—      assassination  of  Julius,  vvlio  was  Pontifex  Maxi- 
mus,  makes  Vesta  claim  him  as  her  priest. 

Mens  fiiit  ille  sacerdos ; 
Sacrilegae  telis  me  petiere  manus. 

And  in  another  place  he  describes  Augustus  as 

fostering,  in  the  same  capacity,  the  eternal  fire.^^'^ 

Males  not    But  it  appears  that  no  male  person,  not  even  the 

into  the      Pontifex,  was  allowed  to  enter  the  Penetralia  of 

the  temple,'**  the  contents  of  which  were  matters 

of  mysterious  conjecture.     Hence,  with  Horace, 

"  to    dwell  within  the   Penetralia  of  Vesta,"    is 

equivalent  to  being  utterly  unknown  to  the  world. ^ 

This  sanctuary  had  the  peculiar  name  of  J?enus.^ 

Sncrod  fire.       If  we  may  believe  the  testimony  of  Ovid,  the 

temple  contained  no  statue  of  the  goddess,  who 

was  represented  only  by  the  sacred  fire,'^  which 

was  believed  to  have  been  brought  from  Troy, 

and  the  continuance  of  which  was  connected  by 

superstition  with  tlie  fortunes  of  Pome.     But  this 

2«9  Ovid.  Fast.  iii.  699 ;  ib.  iii.  427. 

•«  Ovid.  Fast.  vi.  253,  450:  Lucan.  Phars.  ix.  993;  Appian.  Bell. 
Civ.  i.  54. 

'  Quamvis  invita  recedant, 

Et  versentur  adhuc  intra  penetralia  Vcstae. 

Ilor.  p]p.  ii.  2,  114. 
'  Penus  vocatur  locus  intimus  in  aede  Vcstae.     Festus,  ed.  IMiill. 
250. 

'  Esse  diu  stultus  Vestae  simulacra  putavi, 

Mox  didici  curve  nulla  subesse  tliolo. 
Ignis  inextinctus  templo  celatur  in  illo, 
Efligiem  nullam  Vesta  nee  i<;nis  liabet. 
Ovid.  Fast.  vi.  295.     Plutarch.  Camill.  20.  (Note  284). 


absence  of  material  representation  was  not  gene-     chap. 
rallv  knoAvn,  since  Ovid  himself  confesses  that  he 


llf 


had  long  supposed  there  was  an  image  of  Vesta  Vesta. 
in  her  temple.^'*  Cicero  speaks  of  the  image  of 
Vesta  being  sprinkled  with  the  blood  of  Scaevola, 
Pontifex  Maximus,  who  was  killed  in  this  temple 
among  the  victims  put  to  death  by  order  of 
Marius;^  and  in  the  Aeneid  the  shade  of  Hector 
delivers  to  the  care  of  Aeneas  not  only  the  eternal 
fire,  but  the  goddess  herself. 

Vittas,  Vestamque  potentem 
Aetcrnunique  adytis  efl'ert  penetralibus  ignem.*' 

Pliny  mentions  a  celebrated  sitting  Vesta  by 
Scopas,  which  was  not,  however,  in  any  temple, 
but  in  the  Servilian  Gardens.'  Dio  relates  that 
Tiberius  placed  a  statue  of  Vesta  in  his  newly- 
restored  Temple  of  Concord."  And  on  a  coin  of 
Vespasian,  representing  the  Temple  of  Vesta,  a 
standing  female  figure  is  shown  under  the  domed 
roof  of  a  circular  temple. 

Beside   the   sacred  fire,  the  temple  contained  Palladium. 
another   treasure,  on  the  preservation  of  which 

■^*  In  another  place  he  alludes  to  a  supposed  image  in  the  temple 

at  Alba: 

Sylvia  fit  mater.     Vestae  simulacra  ferunlur 

Virgineas  uculis  opposuisse  manus 

Ovid.  Fast.  iii.  45. 

*  Neque  enim  (L.  Crassus)  .  .  .  coUegae   sui,  pontificis  maximi, 

sanguine  simulacrum  Vestae  respersum  esse  videt.     Cic.  de  Orat. 

iii.  3.     Florus.  iii.  21.     Lucan.  Phars.  ii.  126. 

«  Virgil.  Aen.  ii.  296. 

'   Plin.  N.  II.  xxxvi.  4  (7). 

'  See  before,  p.  13. 


114 


CHAP. 
III. 


Form  of  the 
temple. 


THE  IIOMAN  FORUM. 

the  safety  of  the  empire  was  supposed  to  depend. 
Tliis  was  the  Palladiiiin  or  image  of  Pallas, 
which  was  believed  to  have  been  brought  from 
Trov,  ha  vino;  oris^inallv  foil  en  from  Heaven  .^'^ 

Liicet  in  aris 
Ignis  ailhnc  Pliiygins,  iiullique  atlspecta  viroruin 
Pallas,  in  abstruso  pignus  niemorabilc  teniplo.^^ 

The  temple  was  round,  with  a  domed  roof,  and 
this  form  is  connected  bv  Ovid  and  Festus  with 
the  attributes  of  the  goddess,  who  was  associated 
not  onlv  Avith  Plre,  but  Avith  the  Earth.^ 

It  appears  from  some  statements  of  Roman 
antiquaries,  that  the  Aedes  Vestae  Avas  not  a 
templiim^  in  the  proper  sense  of  the  term,  as  it 
was  not  consecrated  bv  auo;m^v.    Servius  accounts 

2'"  Dionjs.  i.  69  ;  Ovid.  Fast.  vi.  421,  et  seq. 

»"  Lucan.  Phars.  ix.  99-2. 

'        Vesta  eadem  est  quno  Terra;  subest  vigil  i^^nis  utrique 

Significant  sedem  terra  ibcnsque  snum. 
♦  ♦  *  * 

Arte  Syracosia  suspensns  in  acre  clau?o 

Stat  globus,  imniensi  parva  figura  poli ; 

Et  (juantum  a  sunnnis  tantuin  secessit  ab  imis 

Terra,  quod  ut  fiat  forma  rotunda  facit. 

Par  fades  tempi i  :  nullus  procurrit  in  illo 

Angulus:  a  pluvio  vindicat  imbre  tholus. 

Ovid.  Fast.  vi.  267-282. 

Nojitof  ^t  Xfyerrtt  Ka\   rn  riyf  'Kor/ag  'lepov  eyicvKXiov  Trepi^^aXf^rrOai   rqt 

d(Tl3e(TT(iJ  TTVpi  <ppovpdv     dTro^nf.iovfiei>oc^  ou  to  <rxW"  tI^IQ  ynQ  ^^  'EfTTiag 

oiifTj/g,    aXXrt    Tor    (rv^nravroQ    Koa/jov,    or    (ittTov    o'l   HuOayopiKoi    to    irvp 

'i^pvrrOai  voni'Covm^  kt\.     Plutarch.  Num.  11. 

liutundam  aedeui  Vestae  Numa  Ponqiilius  rex  Romanorum  conse- 

crasse  videtur,  quod  candem  esse  terram,  qua  vita  hominum  susten- 

taretur,  crediderit;    eamque  pihii'   forma  esse,  ut   sui  simili  temple 

dea  coleretur.     Fest.  ed.  ^luM.  p.  262. 


TEMPLE  OF  VEST\. 


115 


nm 


for  this  omission  by    supposing  that  it  AA^as    in-     chap. 
tended  to  prevent  the  meeting  of  the  Senate   in       — 
the  Virgins'  temple,  since  such  a  meeting  could 
only  take  place  in  a  localitA^   so  consecrated,  but 
adds  that  the  Senate  might  meet  in  the  Atrium 
Vestae,  Avhich  AA^as  a  distinct  building.*"*' 

The  original  temple  of  Vesta  is  attributed  by  Piistorj 
Ovid  to  Numa,  and  is  supposed  by  the  poet  to  Temple. 
have  been  constructed  Avith  Avattled  Avails  and  a 
thatched  roof  ^      When  Rome  Avas  taken  l)y  the 
Gauls,  the  Virgins  took  the  sacred  fire  and  other 
relics  to  Caere  in  Etruria  for  safety.'     The  tem- 
ple Avas  pro1)abl3^  then  destroyed.     The  temple  of 
Vesta  w\as  burnt  in  the  year  B.C.  241,  on  which  paiiadi 
occasion    L.    Metellus,  tlien   Pontifex    Maximus,  Meteiius. 
saved  the  Palladium  at  the  expense  of  his  oAvn 
eyesight."'      In  return  for  his  devotion  a  privilege 

"^  Id  quoque  scriptum  reliquit  (Varro),  non  omnis  aedes  sacras 
templa  esse,  ac  ne  acdem  quidam  Vestae  templum  esse.  A.  Gell. 
xiv.  7. 

Et  nisi  in  augusto  loco  consilium  senatus  habere  non  poterat. 
ITnde  templum  Vestae  non  fuit  augurio  consecratum,  ne  illuc  con- 
veniret  senatus,  ubi  erant  Virgines.  Nam  liaec  fuerat  regia  Numae 
Pompilii.  Ad  atrium  autem  Vestae  conveniebat,  quod  a  temple 
remotum  fuerat.     Servius  ad  Aen.  vii.  153. 

*  Quae  nunc  acre  vides,  stipula  tunc  tecta  videres, 

Et  paries  lento  vimine  tcxtus  erat. 

Ovid.  Fast.  vi.  261.     Dicmys.  ii.  65.  (Note  267.) 

*  To  ^i  Tvp  TijQ  'V^ffTiaq  at  irapQlvoi  fieTii  tCjv  tepwv  apTraadfievoi 
t(pvyov^  KOiTOt  TitnQ  ouciv  elvai  to  (ppovpovfievov  vtt'  uvtmv  fTcpov  rf  irop 
a(pQiTov  iffTopoLKTi.  Plutarcli.  Camill.  20;  Liv.  v.  40;  Ovid.  Fasti, 
vi.  265. 

*  Siquidem  is  Metellus  orbam  luminibus  exegii  senectam  amissis 
incendio,  quum  palladium  raperet  ex  aede  Vestae.  Plin.  N.  II.  vii. 
45.      Ovid.  Fast.  vi.  437  ;  Dionys.  ii.  66. 

I  2 


116 


THE  ROMAN  FORUM. 


CHAP. 
HI. 


was  granted  to  him,  wliicli  bad  been  enjoyed  by 
no  other  Roman  ;  he  was  allowed  to  be  conveyed 
in  a  car  to  the  Cm'ia  whenever  he  attended  the 
Senate.'^' 

At  a  later  period,  B.C.  210,  the  temple  narrowly 
escaped  destruction  by  a  fire,  which  broke  out  in 
different  parts  of  tlie  Forum,  and  which  certain 
Campanians  were  accused  of  having  caused  for 
the  very  purpose  of  burning  this  temple  with  its 
contents,  and  so  inflicting  a  fatal  blow  upon  the 
fortunes  of  Rome.'  The  building  was  saved  by 
the  exertions  of  some  slaves,  who  were  rewarded 
with  liberty.'^ 

The  age  of  the  temple,  as  it  existed  in  the  time 
of  Augustus,  with  the  bronze  dome  mentioned 
by  Ovid,  is  not  known.  It  is  not  named  in  the 
Ancyran  inscription  among  the  restorations  of 
Augustus  himself;  and  Pliny  speaks  of  the  roof 
of  Syracusan  bronze  as  if  it  were  a  work  of  con- 
siderable antiquity.'^ 

The  temple  of  Yesta  was  burnt  down  in  the 
great  Are  of  Nero,'^'^  and  probably  rebuilt  by  Ves- 
pasian, on  some  of  whose  coins  it  .is  repre- 
sented.    It  was  again   burnt   down    in   the   fire 

28«  Plin.  N.  II.  vii.  45. 

'  Vestae  aedem  petitam  et  aeternos  ignes  et  condituni  in  penetrali 
fatale  pignus  imperii  Komani.     Liv.  xxvi.  27. 

«  Liv.  xxvi.  27.     (Note  135.)  »  PJin.  N.  H.  xxxiv.  7. 

*"  Vetustissima  religione  quod  Servius  Tullius  l^unae,  et  magna 
ara  fanumque  quae  praesenti  Ilcrculi  Areas  Evander  sacraverat, 
aedesque  Statoris  Jovis  vota  Romulo,  Numaeque  regia,  et  delubrum 
Vestae  cum  Penatibus  populi  Romani  exusta.     Tac.  Ann.  xv.  41. 


TEMPLE  OF  VESTA. 


117 


whicli  occurred  during:  the  reio:n  of  Commodus,  and     chap. 

.  .    .  III. 

which  destroyed  among  other  important  buildings       — 

the  magnificent  Temple  of  Peace  erected  by  Ves- 
pasian. Herodian  describes  the  removal  of  the 
Palladium  bv  the  Vestal  Virg-ins  throui^-h  the 
midst  of  the  Sacred  Way  to  the  imperial  Court,  on 
which  occasion  it  was  supposed  that  this  image 
was  first  beheld  bv  ordinarv  mortal  eyes  since 
its  arrival  from  Troy.*^^ 

The  pu])lic  maintenance  of  the  Vestal  Virgins  Failure  of 
and  of  the  worship  of  Vesta  was  stopped  or  cur-  ship  of 
tailed  by  Gratianus,  a.d.  382,  and  was  the  subject 
of  protests   addressed    l)y    Symmachus   to   that 
emperor  and  his  colleague  Valentianus. 

The  corner  of  the  Forum  with  whicli  we  are  Murder  of 

.     IT  .         .  Piso. 

now  occupied  was  the  scene  of  the  assassination 
of  Piso  Licinianus,  the  adopted  son  of  the  emperor 
Galba.  When  the  latter  was  killed  at  the  Lacus 
Curtius,  Piso,  who  had  joined  him  on  his  way  to 
the  Forum,  fled  to  the  Temple  <»f  Vesta,  and  was 
liidden  by  one  of  the  public  slaves  in  his  own 
apartment  ;  but,  having  been  sought  out  by 
command  of  Otho,  he  was  put  to  death  at  the 
door  of  the  temple.^ 

^*  Ti/t; 'EtrWaf  roj"  veto  Kara(p\ex9(VTog  vttu  tov  irvpoq  yvfivu)9h>  oxpBq 
TO  Ti}Q  YlaWacoQ  ayaXfia  .  .  ore  Trpuirov  Kai  fieTO.  Hiv  inr  'Wiov  €t£ 
IraXtav  d<pi^tv  eJ^ov  o'l  KaO'  yfiac;  dvOpioTroi.  dpTrdrraaai  yap  to  dyaXfia 
at  TtJQ  'Ecrriac  Uofiai  TranOei'oi  cid  fittTfjQ  Ttjg  lepdg  odou  ilg  Ttjv  tov  fiaai- 
XtMQ  avX))v  nerfKofxitTav.     Ilerodian.  i.  14. 

-  Piso  in  aedem  Vestae  pervasit,  exceptusque  misericordia  publici 
servi  et  contubernio  eius  abditus.  .  .  .  cum  advenere  missu  Othonis 
nominatim  in  caedeni  eius  ardentes,  Sulpicius  Florus,  e  Britannicis 


118 


THE  ROMAN  FORUM. 


CHAP.         Around  the  southern  side  of  the  Temple  of 
~       Vesta,  partly  concealed  by  the  bank  of  modern 

the  Vestals.  debris,are  the  ruins  of  some  buildings,  themselves 
perhaps  of  a  later  date,  which  occupied  the  site  of 
the  houses  of  the  Vestal  Virgins  and  the  inferior 
attendants  of  the  temple.'''  The  backs  of  these 
buildino-s  looked  into  the  Nova  Via  ;  and  beyond 
the  Nova  Via,  on  the  slope  of  the  Palatine  Hill, 

Grove  of      was  a  garden  of  no  very  great  extent,  called  the 

^^'^^  Grove  of  Vesta.^  This  grove  appears  to  have 
1)een  used  as  a  place  of  interment  for  the  Virgins, 
since  traces  of  their  sepulture  were  found  in  the 
sixteenth  centurv  on  the  site  of  the  Church  of 
Sta.  Maria  Liberatrice.  It  is  mentioned  by  Ser- 
vius  that  the  Vestals  had  the  privilege  of  burial 
within  the  citv/ 

The  Regia.  Closc  to  the  houscs  of  the  Vestals,  and  on  the 
north-eastern  side  of  the  temple,  was  the  Regia  or 
King's   House,  the   traditional  palace  of  Numa,' 

cohortibus  nuper  a  Galba  civitate  donatus,  et  Statius  Murcus  specu- 
lator, a  quibus  protractus  Piso  in  foribus  templi  trucidatur.  Tac. 
Plist.  i.  43. 

2"^  Mart.  i.  71,  3.  (Note  t>G2.) 

♦  Non  multo  ante  iirbem  captam  e.x audita  vox  est  a  luco  Vestae, 
qui  a  Palatii  radice  in  novam  viam  devexus  est.    Cicero  de  Div.  i.  45. 

"  Servius  ad  Aen.  xi.  206.  Vicino  a  Sta.  Maria  Liberatrice,  dove 
vogliono  che  fosse  il  Tempio  di  Vesta,  sono  stati  ritrovati  da  duo- 
dieci  sepolcri  di  virgini  Vestali  coUe  loro  inscrizioni.  H.  AUlroandus, 
Meniorie,  n.  3.  Lucio  Fauno,  Antich.  di  Rom.  p.  46  ;  Andr.  Fulv. 
de  Urb.  Antiq.  p.  206.  (Becker,  Ilandbuch,  i.  223  )  See  more  as 
to  the  Xova  Via  and  the  Grove  of  Vesta,  in  Chapter  IX. 

"  'ETTfi  U  ^i€K6(Tixi}(Te  rrtc  lepwavvag,  fCeifiaro  Tr\i]mov  tov  Ti]q  'Karjaf 
iefmr  t})v  Ka\ov^hvr)v  'Vrjyiai',  o'tov  n  liaaiXeiov  oI'k//^«.  Plutarch. 
Num.  14. 


THE  KEGIA. 


119 


a 


and  the  residence  of  the  Pontifex  Maximus.     The     ^?j^^- 
north-east  side  of  this  building  was  in  the  Sacra  Via.       — 
The  site  of  the  Reoia,  close  to  the  Temple  of  ^;teof  the 

'^      '  A  Kegia. 

Vesta,  and  the  houses  of  the  Vestals,  and  at  the 
spot  where  the  Sacra  Via  left  the  Forum,  is  one 
of  the  clearest  points  of  Roman  topography. 
Servius  descril)es  it  as  at  the  bottom  of  the  slope 
of  the  Palatine,  and  on  tlie  limits  of  the  Forum.^'*^ 
That  it  abutted  on  the  Sacred  AVay  ajipears  from 
the  passage  of  Festus,  in  which  he  explains  that 
the  Sacred  Way  in  its  ordinary  sense  was  the 
road  leading  from  the  Regia  to  the  house  of  the 
Rex  Sacrificuhis,  and  from  Suetonius's  description 
of  the  Regia  as  the  residence  of  Caesar,  where  it 
is  said  that  he  lived  in  the  Sacred  Way.^  That 
it  was  close  to  the  Temple  of  Vesta  is  shown 
by  the  statement  of  Solinus  cited  below,  and  by 
other  authorities;^  and  it  appears  from  a  passage 
in  Dio  Cassius,  hereafter  to  be  mentioned,  that  it 
actually  adjoined  the  buildings  devoted  to  the  use 
of  the  Vestals.^"'  The  group  of  ol)jects  collected 
at  this  point  is  depicted  in  three  lines  of  Ovid  : 


Nunia  (habitavit)  in  colle  primuni  Quirinali,  dcinde  })ropter  aedcni 
Vestae  in  llegin,  cjuae  adhuc  ita  appellatur.    Solinus  Polyhist.  1. 

2»'  Quis  enini  ignorat  Kegiani,  ubi  Xuma  habitaverit,  in  radicibus 
Palatii  finibus(iue  Romani  fori  esse.     Servius  in  Aen.  viii.  363. 

"  Festus,  ed.  Miill.  p.  293;  Sueton.  Jul.  46.  (Note  311).  See 
Chapter  VIII.  on  tlie  Sacred  Way. 

»  Solinus  1.  (Note  296);  Plutarch.  Ptoni.  18,  Xum.  14. 

^««  Dio  Cass.  liv.  27.     (Note  318.) 


CHAP. 
III. 


II 


120  THE  ROMAN  FORUM. 

Haec  est  a  sacris  quae  via  nomen  habet ; 
Hie  locus  est  Vestae,  qui  Pallada  servat  et  ignem  ; 
Hie  fuit  antiqui  regia  parva  Numae.'"^^^ 

Atrium  The  Atrium  Vestae  is  treated  by  Serviiis  as 

Vcstjic  n. 

part  of' the  somctliing  distinct  from  the  Regia,^  but  he  is  not 
^^^^'  supported  by  more  reliable  authorities.  When 
Livy  records  the  destruction  by  fire,  B.C.  210,  and 
the  sul)sequent  rebuilding  of  the  Atrium  Regium, 
he  must  be  understood  to  speak  of  the  entire  Regia, 
including  the  Atrium.^  And  Ovid  expressly 
identifies  the  Atrium  Vestae  with  the  palace  of 
Numa. 

Hie  locus  exigmis,  qui  sustinet  atria  Vestae, 
Tunc  erat  intonsi  regia  magna  Numae."* 


THE  ATRIUM  VESTAE. 


121 


Atrium 
Vestae. 


IIJ! 


The  Atrium  of  the  house  of  the  Pontifex  had  a 
specially  sacred  character.  It  was  probably  the 
place  of  meeting  of  the  pontifical  college,*^  and 
appears  to  have  been  a  templtim,  consecrated  by 
augury.  Servius  implies  this  by  saying  that  the 
Senate  met  in  the  Atrium  Vestae,  but  it  can 
scarcely  have  been  large  enough  to  be  convenient 
for  this  purpose.     The  scanty  area  of  the  whole 


3<»  Ovid.  Trist.  iii.  1.28. 

2  Servius  ad  Aen.  vii.  153.  (Note  282.) 

3  Liv.  xxvi.  27.  (Note  132);  xxvii.  11.  (Note  133.) 

♦  Ovid.  Fast.  vi.  263.  In  later  times,  when  the  Regia  was  added  to 
the  Virgins'  house,  the  latter  was  called  Atrium  Vestae.     See  p.  125 

*  Nam  quum  (Domitianus)  Corneliam  Max  i  mill  am  Vestalem 
defodere  vivam  concupisset,  .  reliquos  pontifices  non  in  Regiam, 
sed  in  Albanam  villam  convocavit.     Plin.  Ep.  iv.  11.     It  is  not  clear 


CHAP. 
III. 


building  is  more  than  once  alluded  to  by  Ovid, 
and  is  suflficiently  manifest  on  the  ground.  That 
it  was,  however,  a  templimi,  seems  the  more  pro- 
bable, as  the  Atrium  of  the  imperial  house  on  the 
Palatine,  which  replaced  the  Regia  as  the  resi- 
dence of  the  Pontifex  Maximus,  was  inaugurated, 
and  used  for  the  assemblies  of  the  Senate.^"*^ 

In  the  Regia,  probably  in  the  Atrium,  was  a  Sacrarium 
Sacrarium,  in  which  were  preserved  some  sacred  Kegia. 
weapons   called    Hastae  Martis,  which,   like   the  iiastae 
Ancilia,  were  believed  to  be  sometimes  stirred  by 
a  supernatural  power  when  a  special    expiatory 
ceremony  was  required.     A  decree  of  the  Senate 
has  been  preserved  by  Gellius,  which  was  made 
upon  the  report  of  this  wonder  occurring  during 
the  pontificate  of  Caesar;'  and  the  same  prodigy 
was  repeated  at  his  death  .^     There  was  also  in 
the  Regia  a  Sacrarium  of  the  goddess  Opeconsiva, 
into  which  onlv  the  Vestals  and  the  Pontifex  were 
admitted.^ 

whether  Pliny  means  the  original  Regia,  or  the  substituted  Atrium 
of  the  imperial  palace.     See  next  Note. 

^^  Idcircoetiamin  Palatii  Atrio  quod  aut^urato  conditum  est,  apud 
maiores  consulebatur  senatus.  Servius  ad  Aen.  xi.  232.  Tac.  Ann. 
ii.  37. 

^   Eius  rei  causa  senatus   consultum   factum    est   .    .    .   qvod.  c. 

IVLIVS  .  L.  F.  PONTIFEX  .  MAXIMVS  .  NVNCIAVIT  .  IN  .  SACRARIO  .  IN  . 
REGIA    .    HASTAS  .  MARTIAS    .    MOVISSE  .   DE  .  EA  .  RE  .  ISTA    .    CENSVE- 

RVNT  .  VTi  .  etc.     Gell.  iv.  6.      Julius  Obseq.  96,  104,  107,  110. 
"  Dio  Cass.  xliv.  17. 
"  Opeconsiva  dies  ab  dea  Opeconsiva,  quoius  in  Regia  sacrarium, 


122 


THE  ROMAN  FORUM. 


CHAr.  As  the  official  residence  of  the  Pontifex  Maxi- 
—  miis,  the  Regia  was  during  the  greater  part  of 
tear's  his  public  life  the  home  of  Julius  Caesar.'^"  Here 
Ihe  Rcgia"!^  took  place  the  scandalous  intrusion  of  Clodius 
at  the  festival  of  the  Bona  Dea,  which  induced 
Caesar  to  divorce  his  Avife  Ponipeia,  though  he 
refused  to  assist  in  In-inging  Clodius  to  punish- 
ment, alleging  as  his  reason  for  the  divorce, 
that  his  wife  must  be  above  suspicion.*  Cicero, 
in  one  of  his  letters  to  Atticus,  alludes  to  a  visit 
paid  by  the  latter  to  the  Regia,  when,  after  the 
battle  of  Pharsalus,  it  had  become  a  necessity  to 
court  Caesar's  pardon  or  protection.'  From  this 
house  he  set  forth  on  the  fatal  Ides  of  March, 
alarmed,  according  to  the  stories  that  were  after- 
wards current,  by  his  wife  Calpurnia's  dreams, 
and  by  other  evil  omens  ; '  and  hither  his  lifeless 
body   was    brought    l)ack    from    the    Curia    of 

Pompey.^ 

Nothing  is  known  of  the  architecture  of  the 

quod  ideo  actum  ut  eo  praeter  virgines  Vestales  et  sacerdotem  pub- 
licum introeat  nemo,  is  cvm  eat,  suffibvlvm  havd  iiabeat,  scrip- 
tuin.     Varro  L.  L.  vi.  3  (57). 

3»«  llabitavitprimo  in  Suburamodicisaedibus  :  post  autem  pontifi- 
catum  maximum  in  Sacra  via  domo  publica.     Sueton.  Jul.  46. 

>  Plutarch.  Caes.  10. 

-  Visum  te  aiunt  in  Regia;  nee  reprehendo,  quippe  quum  ipse 
istam  reprehensionem  non  fugerim  .  .  .  Caesar  milii  ignoscit  per 
literas,  quod  non  venerim.    Cic.  cp.  ad  Att.  x.  3. 

3  riutarch.  Caes.  63;  Sueton.  Jul.  81  ;  Appian.  Bell.  Civ.  ii.  115. 

*  Appian.  Bell.  Civ.  ii.  118. 


, 


CxVESAR's  RESIDENCE  AT  THE  REGIA. 

Regia,  except  that  it  >vas  surmounted  in  the  time 
of  Julius  by  a  fiistigium,  or  pediment,  which  was 
erected  by  the  Senate  in  order  to  add  to  the  dig- 
nity of  the  dictator's  house.  It  was  one  of  the 
ominous  dreams  of  Calpurnia  that  this  pediment 
fell  down.=^^' 

Caesar  was  succeeded  as  Fontifex  Maximus  by 
Lepidus,  upon  whose  death,  B.C.  13,  Augustus 
assumed  the  office,  which  was  afterwards  always 
filled  by  the  emperors.  Augustus  did  not  occupy 
the  Regia,  but  made  part  of  his  house  on  the 
Palatine  public,  to  satisfy  the  law  or  custom  that 
required  the  Pontifex  Maximus  to  live  in  a  house 
belonging  to  the  state.  The  new  palace  included, 
as  we  know  from  Ovid,  a  temple  or  chapel  of 
Vesta,  and  probably  a  Sacrarium  in  substitution 
for  that  of  the  Regia.  The  Atrium  was  inaugu- 
rated, and  probably  served  the  same  purposes  as 
the  ancient  Atrium  Vestae. 

Phoebus  habet  partem,  Vestae  pars  altera  cessit, 
Quod  Huperest  illis,  tertius  ipse  tenet. 

^'^  Quern  is  (Caesar)  maiorem  lionorem  consecutus  erat,  (^uam  ut 
liaberet  pulvinar,  simulacrum,  fastigium,  flaminem  ?     Cic.  Phil.  ii.  43. 

Omnes  unum  in  principem  congesti  honores  ....  suggestus  in 
curia,  fastigium  in  domo.     Florus,  iv.  2. 

Et  Calpurnia  uxor  imaginata  est,  conlabi  fastigium  domus.    Sueton. 

Jul.  81. 

'AXXu  ifi'  7«p  Ti  ry  Kai(Tapo(j  otKicji  TrnoffKtifievov  olov  IttI  KofffKfi  Kai 
ffeuvoTiiTi  Ti'iQ  lioDX^iQ  xpfiipKra^iviji^  aKpajTi'ifHOi'^  wc  Aijiiog  i<Troptl'  tovto 
ovan  t)  Ka\-7rovr)via  Oeaaan'tvi)  KarappTfyvi'fievov^  ico^e  TroTViaaOai  Kai 
caKpueiv.     Plutarch.  Caes.  63. 


123 


CHAP. 
III. 


Fastij^iuni 
of  the 
llej^ia. 


Ketnoval 
of  the 
Pontifex 
from  ihe 
Regia. 


124 


CHAP. 
111. 


Later 
history  of 
the  Kei;iu. 


, 


THE  ROMAN  FORUM. 

State  Palatinae  laurus,  praetextaqiie  quercii 
Stet  domiis  :  aeternos  tres  habet  una  dcos.''^ 

The  dedication  of  the  Sacrum  of  Vesta  in  the 
house  of  Augustus  during  the  consulship  of  Qui- 
rinius  and  Valgius,  B.C.  12,  is  mentioned  in  one 
of  the  Fasti.' 

The  Re2:ia,  heins:  vacated  bv  the  Pontifex,  was 
used  to  provide  additional  room  for  the  Vestals.  The 
authority  for  this  statement  is  Dio,  who  says  that 
Augustus  gave  up  the  house  of  the/^ao-tXev?  tmv  lepcov 
to  the  Virgins,  because  it  adjoined  theirs.®  The 
house  here  spoken  of,  in  spite  of  the  doubtful 
description  of  the  office  to  which  it  had  been 
attached,  could  be  no  other  than  the  Regia,  since 
the  house  of  the  Rex  Sacrifi cuius  was  at  the  other 
end  of  the  Sacra  Via.^  The  fact  is  indirectly 
confirmed  bv  Suetonius,  who  alludes  to  Auo;ustus 
having    added    to    the    accommodation    of   the 

«'«  Ovid.  Fast.  iv.  951. 

Vestaque  Caesareos  inter  sncrata  penates. 

Ovid.  Metam.  xv.  8G4. 

^  Fast.  Praen.  iv.  Kal.  Mai.  (Becker,  Ilandb.  i.  236.) 

*  'EiretSt)  re  tov  \€iri^ov  fieTaWa^avroQ  aoxteperg  ciTreceixOi}   .  .   .  our' 

olKiav  Tiva  di)HO(Tiav  tXafieVi,  dWd  fispog  ti  Tt}g  iavTov,  oti  tov  apxifpewv 

'r  K-on'cp  TTnvTiOQ     oiKelv  tXP'7*')  fCijUioire.     rt)v  fi'fVTOi  to?  ftaaiKtwQ  twv 

iepiov  Talg  denrapOtvoic  t^wKfr,  tTTf i^r)  ofXoTOixog  toiq  o('K))<Teniv   avTutv  tiv. 

Dio  Cass.  liv.  27. 

»  Festus,  ed.  MUll.  p.  293.  See  Chapter  VIII.  The  name,  Regia, 
seems  to  have  given  rise  to  the  idea  that  it  had  formerly  been  the 
residence  of  the  Rex  Sacrificulus.  Domus  enim  in  qua  Pontifex 
habitat  Regia  dicitur,  quod  in  ea  Rex  Sacrificulus  habltare  consu- 
esset.  Servius  ad  Aen.  viii.  363.  lb.  ii.  57;  Paul.  Diac.  in  Fest. 
ed.  Mull.  p.  279. 


LATER  HISTORY  OF  THE  REGIA. 


125 


I 


1 


Vestals.'''  The  house  previously  devoted  to  them  chap. 
was  no  doubt  scanty,  according  to  the  more  — 
luxurious  ideas  of  the  imperial  time,  and  from  its 
position  it  could  not  be  otherwise  enlarged.  It 
is  probably  in  consequence  of  this  change  that 
Martial  in  the  passage  lately  quoted,  in  which 
he  descril)es  the  ol)jects  between  the  Temple  of 
Castor  and  the  Sacred  Way,  mentions  the  Virgins' 
house,  but  altogether  omits  the  Regia.^ 

From  this  time,  therefore,  the  Regia  became  A^rn^m 
])art  of  the  house  of  the  Vestals,  and  the  term 
Atrium  Vestae  appears  to  have  been  used  in  the 
time  of  the  younger  Pliny  and  of  Gellius  as  a 
general  name  for  the  Virgins'  residence.'  But  it 
seems  that  the  name  of  Regia  was  not  forgotten  ; 
Plutarch  speaks  of  the  Regia  as  existing  in  his 
day,  and  Solinus  ( probably  early  in  the  third  cen- 
tury) descril)es  the  building  as  still  known  by  its 
old  name.^  Pliny  mentions  two  statues  placed  be- 
fore the  Regia,  which  were  believed  to  have  once 

3-«  Sacerdotum  et  numerum  et  dignitatem,  sed  et  commoda  auxit, 
praecipue  Vestaliura  virginum.     Sueton.  Aug.  31. 

»  Martial.  Ep.  i.  71,3.    Compare  Ovid.  Tris\  iii.  1,  28.    See  before, 

pp.  110,  120. 

2  Anf^it  me  a  Fanniae  valetudo.  Contraxit  hanc  dum  assidet  luniae 
vir^ini  Vestali,  sponte  primum,  est  enim  affinis,  deinde  etiam  ex 
auctoritate  pontificum;  nam  virgines,  cum  vi  morbi  atrio  Vestae 
co<Tuntur  excedere,  matronarum  curae  custodiaeque  mandantur. 
Plin.  Epist.  vii.  19. 

Virgo  autem  Vestalis,  simul  est  capta  atque  in  atrium  Vestae 
deducta  et  pontificibus  tradita,  .  .  .  e  patris  potestate  exit.     Gellius, 

i.  12. 

'  Plutarch.  Rom.  18.  Solinus,  i.  (Note  297.)  Serv.  ad  Aen.  viii. 
363.    (Note  298.)     Appian.  Bell.  Civ.  ii.  148.     (Note  362.) 


( 


126 


CHAP. 
III. 

Arch  of 
Fabius. 


THE  liOMAN  FORUM. 

supported  the  tent  of  Alexander  the  Great.     Two 
others  were  ])efore  the  Temple  of*  Mars  Ultor."^^^ 

The  Sacred  Way,  at  the  point  where  it  entered 
the  Forum,  aftei*  ])assing  the  Regia,  was  spanned 
by  the  Fornix  Fabius,  one  of  the  earliest  of  a 
class  of  monuments  which  were  afterwards  so 
numerous  at  Rome,  and  in  imperial  times  were 
multiplied  to  satiety.^  This  conmiemorative  arch 
was  erected  by  Q.  Fabius  Maxinuis  Allobrq,-. 
gicus,  consul  B.C.  121,  by  means  of  the  ])lunder 
gained  in  his  campaign  against  the  Allobroges 
and  Arverni,  tribes  of  Gaul.  The  prominence  of 
this  monument  made  it  a  frequent  subject  of  allu- 
sion in  ancient  authors.  Cicero  reports  a  saying 
of  Crassus  about  Memmius,  that  he  thous-ht  him- 
self  so  great  a  man,  that  he  could  not  come  down 
into  the  Forum  without  stooping  his  head  at  the 
Arch  of  Fal)ius.^  The  site  of  this  arch  at  the 
entrance  of  the  Forum  is  here  indicated,  as  is  its 
position  at  the  ])ottom  of  the  Sacra  Via  by  another 
allusion  of  Cicero,  where  he  says,  that,  when  he 
is  hustled  in   a   crowd   and   pushed  against   the 

323  Plin.  N.  II.  xxxiv.  18,  ad  fin. 

*  lanos  arcusque  cum  quadrigis  et  insignibus  triumphorum  tantos 
ac  tot  extruxit  (Domitianus),  ut  cuidam  Graece  inscriptum  sit,  arci 
(apKei).  Sueton.  Dom.  15.  The  earliest  arches  of  this  kind  appear 
to  have  been  those  of  L.  Stertinius,  who  erected  three,  two  in  the 
Forum  Boarium  and  one  in  the  Circus  Maximus,  b.c.  196,  and  that 
of  Scipio  Africanus,  b.c.  190,  in  the  Capitol.  Liv.  xxxiii.  27 ; 
xxxvii.  3. 

*  Ut  tu,  Crasse,  in  concione,  ita  sibi  ipsum  magnum  videri  i\Iem- 
mium,  ut  in  forum  descendens  caput  ad  fornicem  Fabii  demitteret. 
Cic.  de  Orat.  ii.  66. 


ARCH  OF  FABIUS. 


127 


Fabian  Arch,  he  does  not  find  fault  with  a  person     chap. 
at  the  top  of  tlie  Sacra  Via,  but  with  the  man  who      — 
runs  against  him.^^^     An  ancient  commentator  on 
Cicero  describes  the  arch  as  close  to  the  Regia  in 
tlie  Sacra  Via,  and  speaks  of  a  statue  of  Fabius 
Allobrox  placed  on  or  near  it.' 

In  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the  Arch  of  Fabius  '^nten] 

Libonis. 

was  a  monument  of  a  somewhat  mysterious 
character,  which  is  often  alluded  to  bv  ancient 
authors,  called  the  Puteal  Scribonianum  or  Puteal 
Libonis.  It  seems  to  have  ])een  a  circidar  struc- 
ture with  an  ajx^rture  in  the  top  which  it  was 
forbidden  to  close.''  It  thus  resembled  a  well-head, 
whence  its  name,  and  is  so  represented  upon  coins 
of  the  family  of  the  Scribonii  Libones,  by  one  of 
whom   it  Avas  prol)ably  erected.^      According  to 

^  Hoc  tamen  miror^  cur  tu  huic  potissiraum  irascare,  qui  lono-issime 
a  te  abfuit.  K(iuidem,  si  quando,  ut  fit,  iactor  in  turba,  non  ilium 
accuso  qui  est  in  summa  Sacra  via,  quum  ego  ad  Fabium  fornicem 
impellor,  sed  eum  qui  in  me  ipsum  incurrit  atque  incidit.  Cic.  pro 
riancio.  7. 

'  Fornix  Fabianus  arcus  est  iuxta  Regiam  in  Sacra  via,  a  Fabio 
censore  constructus  qui  a  devictis  Allobrogibus  Allobrox  cognomina- 
tus  est,  ibicjue  statua  eius  posita  propterea  est.  Pseudo-Ascon.  ad 
Cic.  Verr.  i.  7. 

«  [Scribonianum  apjpellatur  ante  atria  [puteal,  quod  fecit  Scri] 
bonius,  cui  negotium  da[tum  a  senatu  fuerat  ut]  conquireret  sacella 
att[acta,  isque  illud  pro]euravit,  quia  in  eo  loco  [attactum  fulmine] 
sacelluin  fuit.  Quod  igno[raverunt  contegere]  ut  quidam,  fulgur 
conditum  [quod  cum  scitur,  quia  ne]fas  est  integi :  semper  fora- 
mi[ne  ibi  aper]to  coelum  patet.  Festus,  ed.  :Mu1I.  p.  333.  The  words 
in  brackets  were  supplied  by  Scaliger  and  Ursinus. 

»  See  Smith's  Diet.  Biogr.  art.  Libo,  where  there  is  a  representa- 
tion of  the  coin. 


128 


TilE  ROMAN  FORUM. 


CHAP 
III. 


Another 
Puteal  in 
the  Comi- 
tium. 


Festiis  it  was  originally  a  fulguritum^  or  spot 
struck  by  llghtning.^^'^  The  allusions  to  it  in 
classical  literature  are  associated  with  indebted- 
ness or  litigation,  and  have  been  explained  by 
some  commentators  by  supposing  that  it  was  a 
rendezvous  for  usm*ers,  while  others  assert  that  it 
was  the  site  of  the  praetor's  tribunal.^ 

Cicero  describes  the  Consul  Gabinius  as  a  man 
ruined  by  the  Puteal  and  by  herds  of  usurers.^ 
Horace,  in  the  character  of  a  disciple  of  Cratinus, 
who  believed  in  an  intimate  association  between 
poetry  and  wine,  commends  the  Forum,  and  this 
spot  in  particular,  to  the  advocates  of  temperance. 

Eniiius  ipse  pater  nuiiquam  nisi  potus  ad  anna 
Prosiluit  dicenda.     Forum  putealque  Libonis 
Mandabo  siccis.' 

On  another  occasion  his  own  presence  was 
required  at  the  Puteal,  to  assist  a  friend. 

Ante  secundam 
Roscius  orabat  sibi  adesses  ad  Puteal  eras.* 

The  Puteal  and  its  topography  have  given  rise 

530  Festus,  ed  Mull.  333.  (Note  328.) 

•  Locus  Roniae  ad  quern  veniebant  feneratores;  alii  dicuut  in 
quo  tribunal  solebat  esse  praetoris.     Aero  ad  Hor.  Sat.  ii.  6,  34. 

Ad  puteal  Scribonis  Licinii,  quod  est  in  portica  lulia  ad  Fabianum 
arcum  feneratores  eonsistere  solebant.    Schol.  ad  Pers.  Sat.  iv.  49. 

Puteal  auteiu  Libonis  sedes  praetoris  fuit  prope  arcum  Fabianum, 
dictum  quod  a  Libone  illic  primum  tribunal  et  subsellia  collocuta 
sint.     Porphyrio  ad  Hor.  Ep.  i.  19.  8. 

2  Puteali  et  feneratorum  gregibus  inflatus  atque  pereulsus.  Cic- 
pro  Sextio  8. 

»  Hor.  Ep.  i.  19,  8. 
*  Hor.  Sat.  ii.  6,  34. 


PUTEAL  LIBONIS. 


129 


CHAP. 
TIL 


to   considerable    controversy,    owing  to   tlie  fact 

that  there  was  in  the  Comitium  a  spot  so  called, 

where,  according  to  the  old  story,  the  razor  and 

whetstone  of  Attius  Xavius  were  l)uried.^^'   Hence 

it  has  been  sui)posed  that  the  Puteal  Libonis  was 

in  the  Comitium.'^     There  seems,  however,  to  be  sitooi  ,1.. 

strong  evidence  for  placing  the  Puteal  of  Li])o  in  l'S's. 

this  eastern  corner  of  the  Forum,  and  therefore 

for  concluding  that  it  was  altogether  distinct  from 

the  Puteal  of  the  Comitium.     Festus  describes  it 

as  before  the  Atria,  hy  which  we  may   supj)ose 

he  means  the  Atrium  or  Atria  Vestae  ;'   Porphy- 

rio,  a   commentator  on  HorAce,  says  it  was  near 

the  Arch  of  Fabius,   and  an  ancient  scholiast  on 

Persius  j)laces  it  in  the  Porticus  Julia  at  the  Arch 

of  Fabius.*"     This    Porticus,    if  it    liad    any   real   VovWcn^ 

*  I     I ' 

existence,  may  have  been   either  a   part  of  the    "  " 
temple  of  Divus  Julius,  or  more  probably  a  co- 
vered way  between  that  buildins;  and  the  Reo-ia."^ 

With  respect  to  the  praetor \s   tribunnl   having  siteofti.o 
been  at  the  Puteal  Libonis,  there  is  some  diHiculty  S,mi: 
m  the  apparent  want  of  si)ace  for  the  accommo- 

"■■  Cic.dedivin.i.17;  Liv.i.  36;  Dionys.iii.7L     See  Chapter  IV. 
'"•  Becker,  Ilandbuch,  vol.  i.  280. 
"   Festus,  cd.  Miill.  p.  333.     (Note  328.) 

"  Porphyrio  ad  Hor.  Ep.  i.  19,  8;  Schol.  ad  Pers.  Sat.  iv.  49. 
(Note  331.) 

*"  Another  Porticus  Julia  has  been  imagined,  but  probably  had 
no  existence  as  distinct  from  the  Basilica  Julia,  which  was  called  in 
Greek  <Tro«  'lorXm,  and  which  appears  to  be  referred  to  by  Suetonius 
as  the  Porticus  basilicaque  Gai  ct  Luci.  See  Notes  101  and  106; 
Hecker,  Ilandbuch,  i.  339,  note  628. 

K 


uo 


CHAP. 

III. 


THE  ROMAN  FORUM. 

dation  of  a  court  of  justice.  We  have  no  contem- 
porary autlior  who  bears  witness  directly  to  the 
fact  ;  and  of  the  two  known  commentators  who 
mention  it,  it  is  remarkable  that  the  earlier,  Aero, 
speaks  of  it  with  doubt,  while  the  later,  Porpliy- 
rio,  asserts  it  without  hesitation,  adding  thatLibo 
was  the  first  to  place  the  tribunal  and  benches 
there.^^^  The  same  assertion  is  repeated  by  another 
ancient  scholiast,  probably  on  the  authority  of 
Porphyrio.^  The  direct  evidence  does  not  appear 
very  strong ;  and  the  extent  of  the  locality  is 
unfavourable.  On  the  other  hand,  the  inconve- 
nience of  a  limited  space  must  have  been  more 
or  less  common  to  all  the  ancient  tribunals  of 
the  Forum  ;  and  the  supposition  of  the  praetor's 
tribunal  being  held  at  the  Puteal  furnishes  the 
most  consistent  explanation,  not  only  of  the  two 
allusions  of  Horace  already  cited,  but  also  of 
another  well-known  passage  of  the  same  poet, 
which  seems  to  imply  the  existence  of  some  court 
of  justice  in  the  immediate  neighbourhood  of  the 
Temple  of  Vesta. 

Ventum  erat  ad  Vestac  qiiarta  iam  parte  diei 
Praeterita ;   et  casn  tunc  respondere  vadato 
Debebat,  qnod  ni  fecisset  perdore  litem. 
8i  me  amas,  inqiiit,  paiilum  hie  ades.     Intercam  si 
Aut  valeo  stare  ant  novi  civilia  iura.-'' 

'»!  Aero  ad  Ilor.  Sat.  ii.  6,  34;    Porpliyrio  ad   lior.  Ep.  i    IJ),  8. 
(Note  331.) 

2  Schol.  Cruq.  ad  Hor.  Ep.  i.  19,  8. 

3  llor.  Sat.  i.  9.  35. 


ROMAN  MONEY-LENDERS. 


131 


I 


The  existence  of  a  praetor's  tribunal  in  this  post     chap. 
would  also  account  for  its  association  with  usurers,       — 
since  this  class  of  creditors  would  have  frequent 
recourse  to  the  jurisdiction  of  the  praetor. 

The  connexion   of  the  Roman  money-lenders  ^^'^"^•'in 
with  the  Forum  is  part  of  the  history  of  liotli.  "emie'rs. 
It  was  in  the  Forum  that  the  banking  business  of 
Rome  was  carried  on.'*^     Here  loans  were   con- 
tracted, and  interest  paid  ;  and  it  was  here  that 
the  repayment  of  the  debt,  in  case  of  default,  was 
enforced  by  legal  proceedings.     Hence  the  fre- 
quent allusions  in  classical  writers  to  the  feuera- 
tores  of  the  Forum.     Marsyas  is  associated  in  tlie 
mind  of  Horace  with  the  usurer  Novius.'     The 
Puteal  was  a  place  at  which  a  nobleman  might  be 
ruined,  or  at  which  a  friend's  security  was  re- 
quired.^    The    Yeteres    in    Plautus's    day    were 
thronged  with  money-lenders  ; '  and  in  the  time 
of  Cicero  and  of  Horace  the  great  money  market 
of  Rome  was  on  the  other  side  of  the  Mid  Forum, 
at  the  place  called  Janus  Medius.  ^     It  was  pro- 
bably on  account  of  this  character  of  the  Forum 

1i)v  'Piof/aiiov  TroXtrelap  .  .  TrutXojv  dvatpav^vv  t/piOfici  t))v  Tifiriv  cul 
rna7ri::t}(:  4v  ayop^  KfifuviiQ.  riutarch,  Sull.  8;  Liv.  vii.  21;  (Note 
350);   Cic.  Off.  ii.  25. 

'  Ilor.   Sat.  i.  G.   120;    (Note  157);    Schol.  Acron.   ad  Ilor.  ib. 
(Note  158.) 

«  Cic.  pro  Sextio,  8;  (Nofe  332) ;  llor.  Sat.  ii.  6.  34;  (Note  334). 
■  Plaiitus,  Curcul.  iv.  1.  (Note  97.) 

'^  Cic.  Off.  ii.  25;  Cic.  Phil.  vi.  5;  Ilor.  Sat.  iii.    18.     See  further 
in  Chapter  VI. 

I<   '1 


132 


CHAP. 
III. 


Usury 
ille<i;al. 


THE  ROMAN  FORUM. 

that  Cato  the  Censor,  who  professed  a  great 
hatred  of  usury,  wished  it  paved  with  shells.''^ 
On  one  of  the  several  occasions  on  which  the 
distress  of  debtors  demanded  a  pul)lic  remedy 
(B.C.  352),  five  magistrates  were  created  who 
were  called  Mensarii,  on  account  of  the  tables 
which  were  placed  for  them  in  the  Forum,  and 
supplied  with  cash  from  the  public  treasury  for 
the  liquidation  of  debts  upon  security.'' 

Although  by  the  Twelve  Tables  a  legal  rate 
of  interest,  at  twelve  per  cent.,  was  recognised, 
an  attempt  was  subsequently  made  by  the  Genu - 
cian  Law  (b.c.  342),  confirmed  by  the  Sempro- 
nian  Law  (b  c.  194),  to  prevent  the  oppression 
of  debtors  by  forbidding  usury  altogether.'  It 
need  scarcely  be  said  that  these  laws  were  in- 
effectual, and  tended  to  increase  the  mischief 
which  they  proposed  to  cure.  Before  the  close 
of  the  Republic  an  established  rate  of  interest 
was  again  recognised  by  custom,  if  not  by  law. 
During  the  intermediate  period  usurers  were 
subject  to  prosecution,  and  money  Avas  occasion- 
ally raised  for  religious  or  public  purposes  by 
imposing  fines  upon  the  whole  class,  or  a  con- 
siderable number  of  them.'    Tlie   usurers,  how- 

3^9  Cic.  Off.  ii.  25 ;  Plin.  N.  H.  xix.  6.  (Note  190.) 
50  Tarda  enim  nomina  .  .  .  aerarium  niensis  cum  aere  in  toro  positis 
dissolvit,  ut  populo  caveretur.     Liv.  vii.  21.     Compare  Tac.   Ann. 

vi.  17. 

1  Tac.  Ann.  vi.  16. 

2  Liv.  X.  2.3;  xxiv.  16;  xxxv.  41  ;  Plin.  N.  II.  xxxiii.  6. 


ASSASSINATION  OF  ASELLIO. 


133 


CHAP. 
III. 


ever,  continued  a  numerous  body,  and  their  in- 
dispensableness  or  their  influence  with  power- 
ful customers  was  2:enerallv  suflicient  to  shield 
them  from  attack.  Enjoying  a  practical  immu- 
nity, they  naturally  resented  with  bitterness 
any    suggestion    to    revive    the  old    laws.     Ap-  Assassin- 

,  ^  ^       ation  oi 

i)ian  relates  an  event  which  shows  how  strono;  Asciiio. 
and  unscru})ulous  a  body  the  usurers  were,  and 
at  the  same  time  presents  a  picture  of  the  Forum 
in  some  respects  singular.  In  or  about  b.c.  89, 
some  persons  having  a  grudge  against  the  money- 
lenders proposed  to  j)ut  in  force  the  laws  against 
usury  ;  Asellio,  the  praetor,  to  the  dismay  of  the 
defendants,  appointed  a  day  for  trial.  Shortly 
afterwards,  as  he  was  sacrificing  at  the  Temple  of 
Castor,  he  was  surrounded  by  a  mob  of  usurers, 
and  attacked  at  first  with  a  stone.  Throwing  down 
his  patera,  he  fled  and  tried  to  take  refuge  in  the 
Temple  of  Vesta  ;  l)ut  his  escape  in  this  direc- 
tion was  cut  off,  and  he  was  pursued  into  an  inn 
or  tavern,  and  assassinated.  Though  this  crime 
was  committed  in  the  morning,  and  in  the  midst 
of  the  Forum,  and  rewards  were  off'ered  by  the 
Senate  for  information,  with  promise  of  impunity 
to  accomplices,  it  was  found  impossible  to  detect 
the  murderers,  so  poAverful  was  the  influence  of 
the  usurers  over  their  own  class  and  others.^^^ 


'^^  Ot  t"are7oTai  ft,  \(iK€.Tr\fvavT€(^oTi  rhv  pofiou  iraXaiiv  ovra  dveKaiviZe^ 
KTeivovmv  avrov  loce,  'O  fiiv  tOve  toIq  Ato(TKOvpoig  Iv  ayooq.^  tov  TrXijOovg 
(og  tiri   9v<Ti(f   irfntardi'Toc.     ivbg  Ct  XiOov  Toir^iutTov  tir'  ai'irdu  d^eOtVTogj 


134 

CHAP 
III. 


Inn  in  the 
Forum. 


Ilonse  of 

Salvidi- 

enus. 


Temple  of 
Julius. 


THE  ROMAN  FORUM. 

This  narrative  contains  the  only  notice,  so  far 
as  the  writer  is  aware,  of  any  inn  or  tavern  in  the 
Forum.  It  is  not  easy  to  find  room,  either  in  its  area 
or  in  its  circuit,  for  such  an  establishment.  The 
tahernae  described  in  the  last  chapter  wxre  too 
small  and  narrow  to  furnish  acconmiodation  for  a 
place  of  public  entertainment.  The  only  part  of 
the  circuit  of  the  Forum  not  known  to  be  occupied 
by  public  buildings  was  on  the  north  side  of  the 
Sacred  Way,  near  the  Arch  of  Fabius  and  the 
later  Temple  of  Faustina  ;  and  the  course  taken 
by  Asellio  in  his  attempt  to  escape  from  the  mob 
of  money-lenders  rather  points  in  this  direction. 
A  house  with  three  shops  overlooking  the  Forum 
existed  as  late  as  the  reign  of  Xero,  and  was  the 
property  of  Salvidienus  Orlitus.^^'  This  house  was 
pro])ably  in  the  same  corner  of  the  Forum,  and 
may  possi])ly  have  been  the  inn  of  the  preceding 
century. 

In  front  of  the  site  of  the  Eegia,  and  opposite 
to  the  eastern  portion  of  the  steps  of  the  Temple 
of  Castor,  is  the  ruin  of  a  Iniilding  which  seems  to 
have  vied  with  that  temple  itself,  not  in  extent  of 


tpoi-^e  Ti)v  (pia\i]v,  Kai  tQ  to  'Earlaq  lepov  tero  ^po^,^!'  o'l  St  avrov  TrnoXa- 
fiovre^  rt  drnKXeicrav  cnro  tov  'lepov,  Kal  KaracjwyovTa  tg  ri  TravSoxfwv 
ta(patav'  iroWoi  re  tCov  Suokoptujp  tg  Tag  TrapOevovij  avrov  I'lyovfievoi  Kara- 
tpvyelv,  ta^Spafiop  tvOa  fii,  Gffiic  t)v  avdpdmv.  Ovtw  fitv  'AaeWiwv  .  .  . 
dfKpi  SevTtpav  (opav  tatpd^ero  iv  dyopq,  fitay  mipd  lepolg.  Appian.  Bell 
Civ.  i.  54. 

^  ^••^  SalvidienoOrfito  oblectum  est,  quod  tabernas  tres  de  dome  sua 
circa  forum  civitatibus  ad  stationcm  locasset.     Sueton.  Nero,  37. 


I 


i 


f 


TEMPLE  OF  JULIUS. 

area,  but  iu  the  height  of  the  artificial  i)latfomi 
"pon  wliich  it  was  raised.^'  The  rude  nucleus  of 
the^poduun,  formed  of  brick,  tufa,  and  cement,  is 
unfortunately  all  that  remains  of  an  edifice  which 
from  Its  situation  and  other  indications  we  identify 
as  the  temple  erected  in  honour  of  the  first  deified 
Koman  of  historical  times. 

Ille  qnidem  coelo  positus  lovis  atria  soivat, 
Et  tenet  in  magnc.  tenipla  dicata  foio.  » 

The  temple  itself  appears  to  have  occupied  a 
part  only  of  the  large  platform  which  has  been 
uncovered,  and  to  have  faced  towards  the  Mid 
Forum  and  Capitol.  This  orientation  recalls  the 
allusion  to  this  temple  which  Ovid  places  in  the 
mouth  of  Jupiter : 

Ut  semper  Capitolia  nostra  fornmque 
Divus  ab  excelsa  prospectet  Jnlius  aede;' 

while  the  view  it  commanded  of  the  neighbourino- 
Temple  of  Castor  on  the  left  agrees  wiih  another 
passage  of  the  same  poet,  where  he  compares  the 
youthful  Caesars,  Germanicus  and  Drusus,  sharino- 
in  their  father's  triumph,  to  the  twin  gods  : 

Fratribus  assimiles,  qnos  proxinia  tcnipla  tencutcs, 
Divus  ab  e.xcelsa  .Julius  aede  videt.  s 

-  When  on  the  spot  I  roughly  estimated  the  height  of  the  hi-hest 
1  "t  of  the  bases  of  these  tv,„  te.nples  ,o  be  about  twent.-two   ee 
above  the  intervening  paved  space. 

«  Ovid.  Fast.  iii.  703. 

'  Ovid.  Wetamcrph.  xv.  841. 

"  Ovid.  Ep.  ex  Tonto.  ii.  2.  8;j. 


135 


CHAP. 
III. 


136 


CFIAP. 
III. 


Temple  of 
Julius  on 
the  spot 
where  his 
body  was 
burnt. 


THE  ROMAN  FORUM. 

It  is  remarkable  liow  the  singular  height  of  the 
artificial  level  of  this  temple,  the  only  character- 
istic which  the  ruin  has  preserved  for  us,  justifies 
Ovid's  repeated  epithet. 

The  identification  of  the  site  is  confirmed  by  its 
vicinity  to  the  Regia,  where  Appian  places  the 
Temple  of  Julius,^'*'  and  by  its  position  directly  in 
front  of  the  equestrian  statue  of  Domitian. 

Hie  obviji  limina  pandit, 
Qui  fessus  bellis  adscitae  munere  i)rolis 
Primus  iter  nostris  ostendit  in  acthera  divis.^<> 

The  temple  of  which  we  see  the  remains  was 
that  of  which  Dio  Cassius  records    the   desi2:n, 
B.C.  42,  in  the  early  period  of  the  triumvirate  of 
M.  Antonius,  Lepidus,  and  Augustus,  and  which 
IS  said  by  that  historian  to  have  been  intended  to 
be  placed  on  the  spot  where  Caesar's  body  was 
burnt.^     This  account  of  the  previous  associations 
of  the  site  agrees  w  ith  the  statement  of  Appian, 
that  the  burning  of  Caesar's  body  took  place  be- 
fore the  Regia,  where  in  the  historian's  time  the 
temple  stood  f  but  is  not  easily  reconciled  with 
other  authors,  who  speak  of  the  burning  of  the 

'^"  Appian.  Bell.  Civ.  ii.  148.     (Xote3G2.) 

'■''  Stutius,  Silv.  i.  1.  22.     (Note  168.)     See  before,  p.  77. 

'   Tar-ra    re   ovv   ovTwq  ol   av^^eq  eKeJvoi    o',   rpeTf  eVoi'oi/v    ....    Kui 

myv  oi   h'  rf   ry  «yo{,^  kcu   Iv  t.{,  roTTtp  iv  4,  lictKuvro  Tr^wKare^idWoi^ro. 

Dig  Cass,  xlvii.  18. 

-  'Er  Tiiv  dyooav  aWig  W.rrav  (to  \exog  rov   Kaiaapov),  tvOa   to    nuXai 
Wofuuou:  dar\   iiacriXeiov     .      .     ^VlvQu   ,^ojf.6c  Tro.iroc  h^O,,.  vvv   ,V,  i^Ti 
i€ioQ  avToi  k«.'(7«j.or.     Ai)piun.  Bell.  Civ.  ii.  148. 


TEMPLE  OF  JULIUS. 

body  before  the  Rostra.'''  This  difKcuItv  will  be 
further  noticed  in  discussing  the  history  of  the 
Rostra.^ 

On  the  site  of  the  cremation  the  partisans  of 
the  dictator  very  soon  after  placed  a  column, 
which  Suetonius  describes  as  of  Numidian  marble, 
nearly  twenty  feet  high,  and  inscribed  pakexti 
PATRIAE.  The  person  princij)ally  instrumental  in 
this  act  of  veneration  was  C.  Amatius,  who  as- 
sumed the  name  of  Marius,  and  represented  him- 
self as  the  grandson  of  C.  Marius  and  so  a  kins- 
man of  Caesar.  Before  the  column  appears  to 
have  been  an  altar,  which  was  for  some  time  the 
centre  of  an  irregular  worship.^  After  Amatius 
had  been  put  to  death  by  Antonius,  the  column 
and  altar  were  removed  by  the  other  consul,  Dola- 
bella,  the  son-in-law  of  Cicero,  who  was  so  de- 
lighted with  Dolabella's  proceedings  on  this  emer- 
gency that  he  was  ready  to  forgive  at  once  all  his 
previous  offences  both  public  and  private.'     The 

^"^  Caesaris  corpus  quum  in  caniputu  Marti  urn  ferretur,  a  plebe  ante 
^Rostra  creniatujn  est.     Li  v.  Epitom.  IKj;  ef.  Sueton.  lul.  84. 
.  *  See  Chapter  V. 

^••Plebs  .  .  .  postea  solidam  eolumnam  prope  viginti  pedum  lapidis 
Xumidici  in  foro  statuit,  scripsitque  :  Parenti  Patriae.  Apud  earn 
longo  tempore  sacrificare,  vota  suscipere,  controversias  (^uasdam  in- 
terposito  per  Caesarem  iure  iurando  distrabere  perseveravit.  Sueton. 
lul.  80  ;  Cic.  Ep.  div  xi.  2.  (Note  368.) 

'A/uartoc  »/i^  6  xl/ev^oftdpiog  .  .  .  ytyi'OfievoQ  ovv  Sid  Tt'ivSe  Ttjv  vTroicpiaiv 
(rvyyfvi)q  T(^  Kaiffapi^  vTripifXyfi  fidXitTTCi  avTor  TiOvfwTOc;  kui  ^wfibv  tTTtpKo- 
SofJin  Til  wvp^.     Appian.  Bell.  Civ.  iii.  2.     Dio  Cass.  xlix.  51. 

«  O  mirificum  Dolabellam  meum  :  iam  enim  dico  meuni,  antea, 
credc   uiihi,    subdubitabam.      Miignam    dvaOtajptjaiv   res    habet;    de 


137 


CHAP. 

in. 


Column 
and  altar 
on  the 
same  site. 


138 


CHAP. 
III. 


Arcliitcc- 
ture  ot* 
temple  of 
Julius. 


THE  ROMAN  FORUM. 

populace  met  in  the  Forum,  and  demanded  the 
restoration  of  the  altar  and  an  act  of  worship  by 
the  magistrates,  but  they  were  dispersed  by  the 
authorities  and  several  of  their  leaders  executed, 
the  slaves  being  crucified,  and  the  citizens  being- 
hurled  from  the  Tarpeian  Rock/*^'  Later  in  the 
year  there  seems  to  have  been  another  proposal 
to  replace  the  altar,  before  the  tteparture  of  An- 
tonius  from  the  city;  but  it  is  probable  that  nothing 
further  was  done  at  this  time.^  The  temple,  which 
was  desimed  bv  the  triumvirs  in  the  followino- 
year  or  the  year  after,  was  erected  on  the  same 
spot.^  In  the  monument  of  Ancyra  the  Aedes 
Divi  Juli  is  claimed  as  a  work  of  Augustus.'" 
I  have  already  mentioned  that  this  temple,  which 

stixo;  incrucem;  columnam  tollere ;  locum  ilium  sternendum  locare. 
Cic.  ad  Attic,  xiv.  15. 

Liberatus  caedis  i)ericulo  post  paucos  dies  Senatus:  uncus  im- 
pactus  est  fugitivo  illi,  qui  in  C.  Marii  nomen  invaserat.  Atque  hacc 
omnia  communiter  cum  collega ;  alia  porro  propria  Dolabellae  .  .  . 
Nam  quum  serperet  in  urbe  infinitum  malum  .  .  .  iidemque  bustum 
in  foro  facerent,  qui  illam  insepultam  sei)ulturam  efiecerint  .  .  .  talis 
animadversio  fuit  Dolabellae  quam  in  audaces  sceleratosque  servos 
tarn  in  impuros  et  nefarios  liberos ;  talisque  eversio  illius  exsecratae 
columnac,  etc      Cic.  Phil.  i.  2. 

3fi'  T/)j/  dyopav  ovv  KaraXa^ovrfc  t/3owr,  Kai  rov  'Avtmviop  i^XcKTipiifiovv^ 
K.ti  rag  apxiig  tKtXevov  uvTt  'AfidTiov  tuv  jSujubv  tK^tovv  Kai  Oveiv  t7r' 
aiiTov  Kaiaapi  -n-pioTOvg . .  Kai  avWijcpBtpreg  trfpoi  iKpf^uiaGi]aav  oaoi  Oepa- 
TtovTtg  ijffap^  oi  ck  f:\tv9spoi  KaTu  rov  Kpijfivov  Kareppi^riffar.  Appian. 
Bell.  Civ.  iii.  3;  Cic.  Phil.  i.  2.  (Note  366.) 

^  Putesne  nos  tutos  fore  in  ranta  frequentia  militum  veteranorum, 
quos  etiam  de  reponenda  ara  cogitare  audimus.  Brutus  et  Cassius 
Antonio,  in  Cic.  Ep.  div.  xi.  2. 

"  Appian.  Bell.  Civ.  ii.  148  (Note  362.) 

■"  AKDEM  Divi  IV LI  .      .  FKci.     Mou.  Aucyr. 


il 


\ 


p 


( 


] 


>> 


ROSTRA  JULIA. 

in  the  Trajan  monument  is  represented  by  mis- 
take with  a  portico  of  five  Corinthian  columns, 
a})pears  uj)on  some  medals  of  Augustus  and 
Hadrian  as  a  tetrastyle  temple.  Vitruvius  men- 
tions it  as  an  example  of  a  pycnostyle  building, 
that  is,  having  columns  placed  at  short  distances 
from  each  other.^'^ 

The  temple  appears  to  have  stood  on  the 
hinder  or  south-eastern  part  of  the  artificial  })lat- 
form,  having  in  front  of  it,  at  a  lower  level,  a 
broad  terrace  about  sixty  feet  wide  and  thirty 
feet  deep,  approached  by  two  flights  of  steps,  one 
on  each  side.  This  spacious  terrace  was  used 
as  a  suggestum  or  platform  for  public  speaking,  a 
destination  which  was  so  completely  recognised 
that  its  fiice  was  ornamented  with  the  beaks  of 
Egyi^tian  ships  taken  at  the  battle  of  Actium,^  in 
allusion  to  the  time-honoured  decoration  of  the 
ancient  Rostra  of  the  Comitium  and  Forum. 
Looking  more  closely  at  the  remains  of  this 
terrace,  we  find  that  a  portion,  nearly  semicircular 
in  form,  of  al)Out  fifteen  feet  radius,  appears  to 
have  been  built  separately  from  the  rest,  and  to 

^■*  Pycnostylos  est  cuius  intercolumnio  unius  et  dimidiatae  columnac 
crassitudo  interponi  potest,  quemadmodum  est  divi  lulii,  et  in  Cae- 
saris  foro  Veneris,  et  si  quae  aliae  sic  sunt  compositae.  Vitruv.  iii.  2. 
Becker  (Ilandbuch,  vol.  i.  p.  336)  ;  citing  Vitruvius,  states  that  this 
letnple  was  pcripteros  pycnostylos^  and  this  has  been  repeated  by 
some  other  authors;  but  I  find  no  authority  in  Vitruvius  for  sup- 
posing it  to  have  been  peripteral,  which  would  be  inconsistent  with 
the  evidence  of  its  being  letrastyle.  Becker  anticipated  very  correctly 
the  two  flights  of  steps  with  the  terrace  between  them. 

-  DioCass.  Ii    10      (Note  374.) 


139 


CHAP. 
III. 


Rostrji 
.Julia. 


i 


140 


CHAP. 
III. 


Arch  of 
Augustus. 


THE  llOMAN  FOllUM. 

have   either  existed 
previously  or  been  a 
subsequent  addition. 
No   satisfactory  ex- 
])la  nation  of  this  sin- 
gular     construction 
has  yet  been  given. 
It  has  been  suo^o:ested 
that  the  existence  of 
the  Rostra  at  or  near 
this  spot  was  ante- 
rior to  that   of  the 
temple,  but  there  is 
no  good  ground  for 
such  a  supposition. 
This  terrace  was  frequently  used  at  the  public 
funerals  of  the  imperial  family.^'^ 

Near  the  Temple  of  Divus  Julius  was  a  tri- 
umphal arch,  erected  in  honour  of  Auo-ustus, 
which  probably  spanned  the  Sacra  Via,  where 
that  road  was  continued  from  the  Eeo-ia  throuo^h 
the  Forum,  just  before  it  turned  in  the  direction 
of  the  Temple  of  Castor.  Dio  mentions  two  occa- 
sions on  which  this  honour  was  decreed  to 
Augustus,  once  after  the  battle  of  Actium,  and 
afterwards  on  the  recovery  of  the  standards 
taken  by  the  Parthians.  On  the  first  occasion  an 
arch  was  placed  in  the  Forum  ;  the  site  of  the 
second  arch  (if  another  was  erected)  is  not  men- 

^■^  See  Cluipter  V.  on  the  History  of  the  Rostra. 


BAS-RELIEF  OF  AURELIUS. 


11 


\, 


ARCH  OF  AUGUSTUS. 


141 


MMMM 


If    f 


ff 


TEMPLE  OF  JULIUS  AND  ARCH  OF  AUGUSTUS. 

tioned.^''     The   position    of  the    arch    near     the     chap. 

Temple  of  Julius  is   mentioned  by  an  obscure       ' 

commentator  on  Virgil.'^     It  is  this  arch  and  the    Arch  of 
Temple  of  Divus  Julius  that  are  represented  in    nmx 
the  bas-relief  of  the  triumph  of  Marcus  Aurelius   juiiuVin 
now  preserved  in  the  capitol,  as  well  as  on  the  «fAuV^ 
monument  of  Trajan  in   the  Forum.  ^'     The  arch  ^^'"^"^ 
appears  to  have  l)een  of  a  simple  type,  somewhat 
similar  to  that  known  as  the  Arch  of  Drusus,  with 
a  single  opening  and   one   column  or  pilaster  on 
each  side.     The  several  arches  now  remaining:  at 
Rome  enable  us  to  observe  the  successive  elabo- 

■^'^  Koi  ('t\l/lca  Tpoiraiotpopop  tv  re  rtp  li^tvTeaiift  icoi  h'tpav  ep  ry  Piofxai^ 
ayon^  iCu)Kat>'  ti'iv  re  K(>r}ir7ca  tov  '\ov\iciov  t'lpt^ov  Toig  twv  aixfxaXijjTiCmv 
veCjv  ^^jidXoiQ  icofTfit]Orivai.     Dio  Cass.  li.  19. 

Kai  a}p7ci  r()O7ra«o0o()^  ertfju'jOi].     Dio  Cass.  liv.  8. 

*  Mai.  Interpret.  Virg.  Aen.  vii.  6,  viii.  666.  (Note  153.)  A  tri- 
umphal arch  appears  on  medals  of  Aujiustus,  with  the  legend,  civib  . 
ET  .  SIGN  .  MiLiT  .  A  .  PART  .  RECVP  .  and  on  another  with  the  simple 
legend,  imp  .  caesar. 

"  See  before,  p.  68. 


142 


THE  IIOMAN  FORUM. 


CHAP. 
III. 


Meeting 
of  the 
Coinitia 
Tril)ntti 
in  the 
Forum. 


ration  of  design  introduced  into  this  species  of 
monument,  from  the  arch  of  Drusus  to  that  of 
Titus,  and  from  the  latter  to  that  of  Constantine. 

The  space  before  the  Temple  of  Castor,  occu- 
pied in  part  by  the  monuments  hist  described, 
was  before  tlieir  erection  the  least  incumbered  part 
of  the  open  area,  and  was,  not  impro])a])ly,  the 
place  of  meeting  of  the  Comitia  trlhuta  when 
assembled  in  the  Forum.^''  For  convenience  in 
taking  the  suffrages  of  the  several  tribes,  the 
space  Avhere  they  met  was  divided  hy  septa., 
formed  of  posts  and  ropes,. ^  Appian  describes 
Octavianus,  soon  after  his  return  to  Rome  on  the 
death  of  Julius,  as  standing  at  the  septa  to 
canvass  the  voters  in  fiivour  of  a  roo:aiion  con- 
ferring  upon  Antonius  the  command  in  Gaul.^ 

It  should  be  mentioned,  before  leaving  this 
part  of  the  Forum,  that  in  the  Curiosum,  as  com- 
monly read,  a  temple  of  Minerva  occurs  between 
those  of  Castor  and  Vesta.  No  trace  of  sucli  a 
temple,  or  any  room  for  it,  can  be  found  in  or 
near  the  locality  thus  indicated.' 


8U 


3''  See  before,  pp.  103-105. 

*  Ot  Zi  ^I'lfiapxoi  ffvvfKaXovv  to  ttXijOoq  tTri  t))v  (^vXhiv  iKKXtjaiav,, 
Xiopia  Tt/Q  ayopag  TrfptrrxoiviaavT^g,  iv  dig  t^fWov  at  <pv\al  (TTi'ifTfaOai  kht' 
aiirag.     Dionys  vii.  59.     Cie.  pro  Sextio,  37.     (Xote  246.) 

^  'O  t)]n6-i](2  Xewf,  axQo^uvoQ  ry  'AvTiovitu,  avv'cTrpaaatv  o^m^  ha  tuv 
KaiVrtjoa,  tcpEffrutra  To7g  Trfpiffxaivirxfiani  Kai  deoi-iivov.  Appian.  Bell, 
Civ.  iii.  30. 

«o  Basilica  lulia,  Templuni  Castorum  et  Minervae,  Vestam.  Curio- 
sum, in  Keg.  viii.  It  may  be  suspected  that  under  the  words  ef 
mineruae  is  concealed  the  notice  of  some  other  monument,  possibly  lac. 
iuteniae ;  or  et  iulii  may  have  been  misread  et  min. 


143 


CHAPTER  IV. 

I  IIK  COMITIUM,  THE  CURIA,  AND  OTUEU  MONUMENTS 

UPON  THE  COMITIUM. 

An  attemj)t  has  been  made  in  the  three  precediiio;     ciiai 
chapters  to  identify  the  existing  remains  in  that      ^ 
l^art  of  tlie  Forum  which  has  ])een  cleared  to  its 
old  level.     But  of  some  historical  sites  belonging 
to  the  Forum   no  distinct  traces  have  yet  been 
found.     Among  the  most  important  of  tbis  class 
are  tlie  Comitium  and  the  Curia,  the  positions  of 
which  are  still  to  be  ascertained.     The  investiga- 
tion of  these  localities,  and  of  the  monuments 
connected  with  them,  involves  some  interesting 
togographical  questions,  which  it  is  proposed  to 
discuss  in  the  present  chapter. 

The  Comitium  was  an  open  space,  forming  part  Comitinm 
of  the  Forum  in  the   larger   acceptation  of  the  ^'rum. 
latter  word.     In  this  sense  the  Forum  included 
the  entire  public  area  and  the  monuments    sur- 
rounding it ;  l)ut  in  the  present  chapter  the  word 
will  be  generally  used   with   a   more   restricted 
signification  for  the  open  area   exclusive  of  the 
Comitium,  Avhicli  was  probably  divided  from  the 
rest  of  the  Forum  by  some  sort  of  wall  or  fence.^^^ 
Tlie  Comitium  commanded  a  good  view  of  the 

"•  Fecitque  idem  (Tullus  Ilostilius)  et  sepsit  de  mauubiis  comi- 
tium et  curiam.     Cic.  Rep.  ii.  17. 


144 


THE  ROMAN  TOllUM. 


THE  COMITIUM. 


145 


CHAP 
IV. 


Level 
of  the 
Comitium 


Forum,  for  when  the  hitter  was  used  for  public 
spectacles  the  former  appears  to  have  been 
covered  with  a  temporary  roof,  as  a  place  for  the 
more  distinguished  spectators.''-' 

There  has  l)een  some  variance  of  opinion  among 
antiquaries  whether  the  ancient  authorities  justify 
the  conclusion  that  the  Comitium  was  on  a  higher 
level  than   the   Forum.      The  passage   of  Livy, 
describing  the  statue  of  Attus  Navius    "  in  the' 
Comitium  upon  the  steps  to  the  left  of  the  Curia," 
has  been  thought  to  refer  to  steps  leading  from 
the  Forum  to  the   Comitium,  and   therefore   to 
imply  the  greater  elevation  of  the  latter.'     But 
the    steps  referred   to   may  possibly  have   been 
those   of  the  Curia.     An  inference  in  favour  of 
the  higher  level  of  the  Comitium  might  ])e  drawn 
with  some  probability  from  the  paraphrase  used 
by  Dionysius    for   the  Comitium,   when    he    de- 
scribes Romulus  as  placing  his  tril)unal  in  ''  the 
most  conspicuous  part  of  the  Forum,'"  and  from 
the  fact  of  the  Comitium  being  used  as  a  place  for 

^^-  Eo  anno  prinium,  ex  quo  Hannibal  in  Italiam  vcnissef,  comitiun, 
tectum  esse  memoriae  proditum  est,  et  ludos  Romanes  semel  instau- 
ratos  ab  aedilibus  curulibus.     Liv.  xxvii.  36. 

■^  Smith,  Diet.  Geog.  art.  Roma,  p.  777. 

Statua  Atti, ...  in  comitio  in  gradibus  ipsis  ad  laevam  curiae  fuit 
Liv.  1.  36.     Compare  Liv.  i.  48.  (Note  409) 

{TrapffTKevaKero).    Dionys.  ii.  29;  Xiebuhr,  Hist.  Rom.  (En<r|   Tnnsl  ) 
vol.  ii    314,  note   720.      If,  as  there  is  some  groun.l  fo'^r  thinkin'..' 
the  Hephaesteum  or  Vulcanale  of  this  historian  is  the  same  a.  tlu-' 
Comitium,  it  is  distinctly  placed  above  the  level  of  the  Forum.     See 
further  on,  p.  164. 


i 


spectators  when  there  were  games  given  in  the  chap 
Forum.^^^  Xiebuhr  on  the  other  hand  asserts  posi-  — '- 
tively  that  the  Comitium  and  Forum  were  on  the 
same  level,  relying  on  an  expression  of  Fronto,  in 
which  the  orator,  as  an  illustration  of  a  trifling 
superiority,  says,  "as  much  as  the  Rostra  are 
higher  than  the  Forum  and  Comitium."'  The 
significance  of  this  passage  for  the  present  pur- 
l)ose  depends  upon  the  question  of  the  number 
and  position  of  the  Rostra.'  If,  as  seems  likely, 
the  Rostra  of  the  Comitium  and  Forum  were  in 
Fronto's  time  two  difl^erent  structures,  Niebuhr's 
inference  of  course  tails  to  the  ground.  It  is  only 
as  if  one  said,  "  as  nuich  as  the  pulpit  is  above 
the  pavement  at  St.  Paul's  and  Westminster." 

The  origin  of  the  Comitium  is  probably  as  Origin  of 
ancient  as  that  of  the  Forum  itself  Cicero  at-  Uum^''"''" 
tributes  its  establishment  to  Tullus  liostilius,  the 
founder  of  tlu  Curia.  Plutarch  believed  it  to  be  the 
])lace  of  meeting  and  agreement  between  Ronmlus 
and  Tatius  after  their  battle  in  the  Forum,  and  to 
have  derived  its  name  from  this  circumstance.'' 


.«5 


The  story  told  by  Gellius  about  the  statue  of  Iloratius  also  bears 
on  this  question.     See  p.  164. 

«  Locuturumque  .  .  .  nobiscum  de  loco  superiore,  nee  tantulo  su- 
periore  quanto  Rostra  fbro  et  Comitio  excelsiora  sunt,  sed  quanto 
altiores  antemnae  sunt  prora,  vel  potius  carina.  Fronto  ad  Antonin. 
lib.  i.  ep.  2.  (p.  98,  ed.  Lips.  1867).  Becker  is  equally  confident  that 
the  Comitium  was  not  on  a  higher  level.  Ilandbuch,  i.  281.  It  will 
be  seen  hereafter  that  it  was  situated  where  the  ground  naturally  rose 
above  the  Forum.     See  p.  189. 

"  See  Chapter  V. 

*  'Owov    ^t    ravra  nvvlOevrn   fitxpt    vvv  Ko^iVior   KaXflTai'   KOfilfte    yap 


146 


CHAR 
IV. 

Political 
use  of 
Comitium 


Tribunals 
of  the 
Comitium, 


THE  ROMAN  FORUM. 

Its   political   importance    is    indicated   by    its 
name.    It  was  the  gathering  place  of  the  primitive 
citizens  of  Rome,  when  the  Forum  was  no  more 
than  a  market.     Hence,  when  the  representatives 
of  the   original  citizens,  the  Populus  as    distin- 
guished from  the  Plebs,  became  an  aristocratical 
class,  the  Comitium  was  the  patrician,  and  the 
Forum  the  plebeian,  place  of  meeting  ;  and  the 
comitia  curiata,  or  assemblies  of  the  curiae,  which 
represented  the  ancient  patrician  body,  were  held 
^  in  the  Comitium.'^'  ^  These  assemblies,  however, 
early   lost   their   political    importance,  and  long 
before  the  close  of  the  Republic  were  summoned 
only  for  formal  purposes,  when  the  constituents 
were  represented  by  the  officers  of  the  curiae. 

The  Comitium  was  also  the  juridical  centre  of 
Rome.     Hence  the  satirical  line  of  Plautus, 

Qui  periiirum  convenire  volt  hominem  mitto  in  Comitinm.'^o 

The    Praetor   had   his    tribunal   there.^       The 

'Pwfialoi  TO  (TvveWelv  KaXorm.  Plutarch,  Rom.  19.  CIc.  Rep.  ii.  17. 
(Note  381.)  The  same  story  was  told  of  the  origin  of  the  Sacra  Via' 
See  Chapter  VIII.  p.  276. 

'«"  Comitium,  ab  eo  quod  coibant  eo  comitiis  curiatis  et  litium 
causa.  ^  Varro,  L.  L.  v.  32  (43).  Comitium,  locus  propter  Senatum, 
quo  coire  equitibus  et  populo  Romano  licet.  Pseudo-Ascon.  in  Cic. 
Verr  II.  ,.  22.  The  Forum  (fromfero,  0.»  was  a  place  to  which 
merchandise  (ra  tpopua)  was  brought. 

«o  Plaut.  Cure.  iv.  1.  (Note  97.) 

•  Homo  in  ius  vocatus  ...  (ex  xii.  tabulis)  ad  praetorem  in 
Comitium  .  .  .  effertur.     A.  Gell.  x.  1. 

C.Titiusvir  aetatis  Lucilianae,  in  oratione  qua  legem  Fann^am 
suasit  .  .  .  describens  .  .  .  homines  prodigos  in  forum  ad  iudican- 


^» 


CHAP. 
IV. 


TRIBUNALS  OF  THE  COMITIUM.  147 

Triumviri  Capitales  sat  at  the  Maenian  column 
to  hear  criminal  causes,  and  their  sentences  of 
punishment  were  executed  on  the  spot.^^^  I^ivy, 
in  describing  the  arraignment  of  M.  Manlius 
Capitolinus  before  the  dictator  Cornelius,  places 
the  scene  in  the  Comitium,  where  the  dictator 
iixes  his  tril)unal,  surrounded  by  the  Senate  just  . 
issued  from  the  Curia.  So  the  consuls  sit  in  the 
Comitium  to  hear  tlie  complaints  of  the  legates 
from  Locri,  who  prostrate  themselves  before  the 
tribunal.^  In  later  times  the  civil  tribunals  appear 
to  have  hoen  held  in  various  parts  of  the  Forum, 
as  well  as  in  the  Comitium,*  and  the  l)asilicas 
furnished  a  more  convenient  place  for  the  trans- 
action of  legal  business. 

Some  idea  of  the  size  of  the  Comitium  and  of  Forum, 

Comitium, 
dum  cbrlos  commeantes  ...  sic  ait.  Ludunt  alea  .  .  .  ubi  horae  ^  "'^**'" 
decem  sunt,  iubent  puerum  vocari  ut  in  Comitium  eat  percunctatum 
quid  in  foro  gestum  sit  .  .  .  inde  ad  Comitium  vadunt,  ne  litem  suam 
faciant.  Dum  eunt,  nulla  est  in  angiporto  amphora,  quam  non 
impleant,  quippe  qui  vesicam  plenam  vini  habeant.  Veniunt  in 
Comitium  tristes;  iubent  dicere;  quorum  negotium  est  dicunt;  index 
testes  poscit;  ipsus  it  mictum.  Ubi  redit,  ait  se  omnia  audivissc, 
tabulas  poscit,  literas  inspicit,  vix  prae  vino  sustinet  palpebras. 
Macrob.  Saturn,  ii.  12. 

Varro,  L.  L.  v.  32  (43).  (Note  389.)    Dionys.  ii.  29.  (Note  384.) 

•■'"-  Cic.  in  Caecil.  div.  16.  Ascon.  a<l  Cic.  ib.  (Note  484.)  Sueton. 
Dom.  8.  (Note  399.) 

'  Postero  die  Senatu  hablto,  quum  satis  periclitatus  volunfates 
hominum  discedere  senatum  ab  se  vetuisset,  stipatus  ea  multitudinc, 
sella  in  Comitio  posita,  viatorem  ad  M.  Manlium  misit.     Liv.  vi.  15. 

Decern  legati  Locrensium  ...  in  Comitio  sedentibus  consulibus. 
.  .  .  ante  tribunal     .  ,  humi  procubuerunt.     Liv.  xxix.  16. 

*  See  before,  pp.  81,  129.  Ius  diligenter  et  Industrie  dixit,  ple- 
rumqiie  et  in  foro  pro  tribunal!  extra  ordinem.     Sueton.  Dom.  S. 

L  2 


148 


THE  ROMAN  FORUM. 


^^^^'    its  relation  to  tlie  rest  of  the  Forum  on  the  one 
hand   and  to  the    Curia   on   the   other   may   be 
formed  from  Livy^s  narrative  of  the  excitement 
which   prevailed   at   Rome   after  the  defeats   of 
Trasimene  and  Cannae.     The  people  on  the  first 
occasion  gather  in  the  Forum,  and  then  turn  to 
the  Comitium  and  Curia  to  demand  explanations 
from  the   magistrates.     In    the  second  case   the 
crowd  is  represented  as  collected   in  the  Comi- 
tium, and  addressing  its  complaints  and  remon- 
strances to  the    Curia,    in    which  the  Senate    is 
assembled  to  hear  the  messengers  from  the  Roman 
prisoners  of  war.^^"^ 

uonsl^^the  ^^^^  Comitium  was  used  with  the  Forum  for 
^'omitium.  pu])lic  exhibitions.  Thus,  in  the  aedilesliip  of 
Julius  and  Bibulus,  both  these  areas  were  filled 
with  temporary  galleries  for  the  exhibition  of 
the  animals  prepared  for  the  extraordinary 
spectacles  which  were  given  by  the  aediles^" 
So  the  Comitium,  as  well  as  the  Forum,  was 
decorated,  probably  on  some  pu1)lic  occasion  of 

'''  Romae,  ad  primum  nuntium  cladls  eius,  cum  ingenti  terrore  ac 
tumuitu  concursus  in  forum  populi  est  factus.  Matronae  vaijae  per 
vias,  quae  repens  clades  allata  quaeve  fortuna  exercitus  esseCobvios 
percunctantur.  Et  quum  frequentis  concionis  modo  turba  in  Comi- 
tium et  Curiam  versa  magistratus  vocaret,  tandem,  etc.     Liv.  xxii.  7. 

Legatis  captivorum  senat.is  ab  dictatore  datus  est,  quorum  prin- 
ceps  M.  Junius,  Patres  conscripti,  inquit  ....  Ubi  is  fineni  iecit, 
exten.plo  ab  ea  turb.i  quae  in  Comitio  erat,  clamor  llebilis  est  subla- 
tus  manusque  ad  Curiam   tendebant  orantes,  ut  sibi  liberos,  fratres 
cognatos  redderent.     Liv.  xxii.  59,  60. 

«  Aedilis  praeter  Comitium  ac  forum  basilicasque,  etiam  Capito- 
1mm  ornavit  porticibus  ad  tempus  extructis,  in  quibus  abundante 
rerum  copia  pars  apparatus  exponeretur.     Sueton.  in  lul.  10. 


THE  COMITIUM. 


149 


h 


festivity,  with  the  vast  collection  of  pictures  and     chap. 
statues  amassed  by   Verres,  when,  according  to       il. 
the  pathetic  reproach  of  Cicero,  the  am])assadors 
from  Greece  and  Asia  recognised  and  worshipped 
in  the  Forum  of  Rome  the   images  which   had 
been  torn  from  their  native  temples.^'' 

The  Comitium  was  used  as  a  place  for  the  in-  i^unition 
fliction  of  capital  punishment  more  majorum  as  Comftium. 
late  as  the  reign  of  Domitian,  who  in  his  severi- 
ties  against  the  Vestals  and  their  paramours  or- 
dered Cornelia  to  be  buried  alive  (pro])al)ly  at  the 
Colline   gate),^    and    the   male  criminals    to   ]>e 
flogged  to  death  in  the  Comitium.^'     The  conti- 
nuance of  the  Comitium  as  a  distinct  locality  in 
the  time  of  M.  Aurelius  may  be  inferred  from  the 
passage  of  Fronto  already  inentioned.^^'^     This  is 
perhaps  the  last  notice  to  l)e  found  of  its  exist- 

-  Dices  tua  quoquesigna  et  tabulas  pictasornamentourbi  foroque 
popuh  Ilomam  fuisse.  Mennni,  vidi  simul  cum  populo  Kon.ano 
orum  Com.t.umque  adornatum  .  .  .  vidi  collucere  omnia  furtis 
tu.s,  praeda  provinciarum,  spoliis  sociorum  .  .  .  casu  Ic^ati  ex 
As.aatque  Achaia  plurimi  Romae  tunc  fuerunt,  qui  deorum  simulacra 
ex  suis  fanis  sublata  in  foro  venerabantur.  Cic.  Verr.  Actio  II  i  22 
Teque,  Latona,  et  Apollo,  et  Diana,  quorum  iste  Deli  sedem 

ant.quam   .  .  .  compilavit;  etiam  te,  Apollo,  quem  iste  Chio  suslulit: 
teque  etiam  atque  etiam,  Diana,  quam  Pergae  spoliavit,  etc.     Cic 
Verr.  Act.  II.  v.  72. 

'  Liv.  viii.  15;  Plut.  Xuma,  10;  Serv.  ad  Aen.  xi.  -iOC 

»  Cornelian,  ma.vin,a„,  Virginem  .    .    .   defodi  imperavit,  stunra- 

torcque  v,rg,«  ,n   Comitio  ad  necen,  caedi,  cxcepto  praetorio  viro. 

bueton.  Dom.  8.  *      i  u 

Celer,  equc,  Jfomanus,  cui  Cornelia  obiiciebatur,  cun,  in  Comitio 
virgis  caederetur    in   hac  voce  perstiterat,   Quid   feci  ?  nihil   feci 
Ilin.fcp.iv.il.     Liv.  xxii.  57. 

'"  Fronto  ad  Antonin.  lib.  I,  ep.  2.     (Note  386.) 


CHAl* 
IV. 


Comitium, 
partly  in 
front  of 
the  Curia; 


I 


150  THE  KOMAN  FORUM. 

ence.  We  shall  see  reason  to  believe  that  its 
form  and  character  were  in  a  great  measure  lost 
during  the  reign  of  Septimius  Severus. 

Part  of  the  Comitium  was  in  front  of  the  Curia, 
that  is,  between  that  building  and  the  Forum. 
But  this  part  cannot  have  been  more  than  a  narrow 
terrace,  since  the  ancient  Rostra,  which  stood  on 
the  edo-e  both  of  the  Comitium  and  Forum,  so 
that  the  orators  were  able  to  turn  either  to  a 
patrician  or  to  a  plel)eian  audience,^^'^  were  before 

but  mostly  ^       .  i       i  •  i  'xi       'x  2       T 

tit  the  side,  the  Curia  and  almost  m  contact  with  it.  In 
order  therefore  to  find  room  for  the  Comitium, 
the  whole  extent  of  which,  as  the  meeting-place 
of  the  curiae^  must  have  been  considerable,  we 
are  compelled  to  suppose  its  greatest  area  to  have 
been  at  the  side  of  the  Curia.  It  cannot  have 
been  behind  that  building,  as  it  would  not  then 
have  commanded  a  view  of  the  Forum. 

In  telling  the  story  of  Tarpeia,  Propertius 
associates  the  site  of  the  Curia  with  a  natural 
well  of  water. 


Curia. 


401 


»•  Cic.  de  Amicit.  25 ;  Plutarch.  C  Gracch.  5.  (Note  540.) 
2  Comitium  ab  eo,  quod  coibant  eo  comitiis  curiatis  et  Htium 
causa.  Curiae  duorum  generum;  nam  et  ubi  curarent  sacerdotes 
res  divinas,  Curiae  Veteres,  et  ubi  senatus  humanas,  ut  Curia  llos- 
tilia,  quod  primus  aedificavit  Ilostilius  rex.  Ante  hanc  llostra, 
quoius  id  vocabulum,  ex  hostibus  capta  fixa  sunt  rostra.  Sub  dextra 
huius  a  Comitio  locus  substructus,  ubi  nationum  subsisterent  legati 
qui  ad  senatum  essent  missi  :  is  Graecostasis  appellatus  a  parte,  ut 
multa.  Senaculum  supra  Graecostasin,  ubi  aedis  Concordiae  et 
basilica  Opimia.  Senaculum  vocatum,  ubi  senatus  aut  ubi  seniores 
consisterent :  dictum  ut  yi^wvaia  apud  Graecos.  Varro,  L.  L.  v. 
32  (43).  Valerius  Max.  ix.  5.  2.  (Note  421.)  Asconius  ad  Cic.  pro 
Mil.  5.  (Note  551.)  See  Chapter  V.  p.  199. 


THE  CURIA. 


151 


CHAP. 
IV. 


llostilia. 


Lucus  erat  felix  hederoso  consitus  antro, 

Multaque  nativis  obstrepit  arbor  aquis. 
•  «  ♦  * 

Miirus  erant  montes  :  ubi  nunc  est  Curia  septa, 
Bellicus  ex  illo  fontc  bibebat  equus.^^* 

One  is  reminded  of  the  traditional  springs  at 
Janus  Geminus,'^  and  of  the  well  in  St.  Peter's 
prison.^ 

The    Curia   adjoined   the  Comitium    and    was  ra9adeof 

•^  Curia  to- 

entered  from  it/  the  fiicade  and  principal  doors  wards  the 

'  ^  *  *^  iorum. 

being  in  the  direction  of  the  Forum,^  and  ap- 
proached by  a  flight  of  steps,  which  existed,  ac- 
cording to  tradition,  in  the  earliest  times.^  The  Curia 
origin  of  the  ancient  Curia  was  attributed  to  king 
TuUus  Hostilius,  whose  name  the  building  bore 
until  its  destruction  at  the  funeral  of  Clodius.^^ 
One  of  the  earliest  paintings  placed  in  a  public 

*««  Propertius,  iv.  4.  3.  13. 

*  Varro,  L.  L.  v.  32  (43).  (Note  740.) 

«  See  pp.  6,  7. 

'  C.  Aufustius  (obiit)  egressus,  quum  in  Senatum  iret,  ofTenso 
pede  in  Comitio.  Plin.  N.  H.  vii.  54 ;  Dionys.  iv.  38.  (Note  409.) 
I  assume  that  the  Curia  always  stood  on  the  same  place,  or  in  other 
words  that  the  site  of  the  Curia  llostilia  and  Curia  Julia  was  identical. 
See  this  matter  discussed  further  on,  p.  153. 

«  Dio  Cass.  Ixxiii.  13  (Note  620)  ;  Procop.  B.  Goth.  i.  25.  (Note 
639.) 

»  Turn  Tarquinius  ,  .  .  medium  arripit  Servium,  elatumque  e 
Curia  in  inferiorem  partem  per  gradus  deiicit.  Liv.  i.  48.  Liv.  i. 
36    (Note  474.) 

Vevo^tvoQ  Se  t^io  tov  (iovXtvrijpiov  fiETtiopov  tKapTTfJ^fraQ  ahrbv  .  .  . 
avappiiTTei  Kara  tCjv  KprjTridCJv  rov  (3ov\tvTT]i)iov  ToJv  elg  to  iKKXrimaff- 
Ti]piov  (pfpovautv.     Dionys   iv.  38. 

»»  Principes  Albanorum  in  Patres  .  .  .  legit  .  .  .  templumque  ordini 
ab  se  aucto  Curiam  fecit,  quae  Hostilia  usque  ad  patrum  nostrorum 
aetatem  appellata  est.     Liv.  i.  30.     Cic.  Hep.  ii.  17.     (Note  381.) 


1 


152 


CHAP. 

IV. 


Tabula 
Valeria. 


Curia 

Hostilia 

burnt. 


Intended 

Curia 

Cornelia. 


tup:  ROMAN  FDRUM. 

situation  in  Rome  was  on  the  side  of  the  ancient 
Curia.  It  was  placed  there  by  M.  Valerius  Maxi- 
mus  Messala,  consul  B.C.  263,  and  represented  the 
victory  obtained  by  him  over  Hiero  and  the  Car- 
thaginians in  Sicily.  This  picture  gave  its  name 
to  a  known  localitv,  which  was  situated  between 
the  Rostra  and  the  Career.  When  the  tribune 
Vatinius  arrested  Bibulus  at  the  Rostra  and  was 
caiTying  him  to  the  prison,  the  other  tribunes 
released  him  at  the  Tabula  Yaleria."*^^ 

The  Curia  Hostilia  was  destro3^ed  at  the  funeral 
of  Clodius,  B.C.  52,  when  the  populace  insisted  on 
burning  his  ])()dy  within  it.  and  thus  set  lire  to 
the  building  itself.  The  l)uilding  then  destroyed 
had  l)een  rebuilt  or  considerably  altered  by  the 
dictator  Sulla,  and  the  Senate  committed  the  task 
of  restoring  it  to  his  son  Faustus  Cornelius  Sulla, 
intending  it  to  receive  the  new  denomination  of 
Curia  Cornelia.^  The  history  of  the  Curia  and 
its  site  during  the  ten  years  that  followed  is  some- 

''"  M  Valerius  Max.  Mess:ila  .  .  .  princeps  tabulampicturaepraelii, 
quo  Carthagenienses  et  Hieronem  in  Sicilia  devicerat,  proposuit  in 
latere  Curiae  Hostiliae.     f^lin.  N.  II.  xxxv.  7. 

Cum  eum  (Bihulum)  tu  consulem  in  vinela  duceres,  et  a  tabula 
Valeria  collegaetui  mitti  iuberent,  fecerisne  ante  Rostra  ponteni  con- 
tinuatis  tribunalibus,  per  quern  consul  populi  Ilomani  .  .  .  non  in  car- 
cerem  sed  ad  supplicium  et  necem  duceretur  ?     Cic.  in  Vatin.  ix.  21. 

Nam  ad  me  P.  Valerius  .  . .  scripsit  .  .  .  quemadmodum  a  Vestae  ad 
tabulam  Valeriam  ducta  esses.  Cic.  ad  Terent.  (Ep.  addiv.  xiv.2,  2.) 

-  To  re  (iovXevTt'ipiov  np  <l>aiVr(^  r^  too  ^vWov  v'lel  dpoiKocofii'ifTai 
Trpe<TkTa^av.  >)j/  fitv  yap  tu  'OrrriXiov,  fxeTfaKEvatTTO  dt  virb  tov  Y.vWov' 
did  TovTO  re  Trtpi  avTOu  tdo^e^  Kcti  oTrutg  t^oiKodofitjOtv  to  Ik^ivov  ovofia 
diroXd^y.  Dio  Cass.  xl.  50.  Plin.  N.  11.  xxxiv.  12.  (Note  485.) 
Ascon.  ad  Cic.  p.  Mil.  5.  (Note  551.) 


REBUILDING  OF  TUE  CL'RI\. 


153 


CHAP. 
IV. 


what  obscure.  Our  chief  information  on  the  sub- 
ject is  derived  from  Dio.  The  restoration  decreed 
by  the  Senate  appears,  according  to  this  historian, 
to  have  l)een  commenced,  if  not  completed,  when 
Caesar  or  his  friends,  jealous  of  the  honour  })ro- 
posed  to  l)e  paid  to  the  family  of  Sulla,  caused 
the  new  ])uilding  of  Faustus  to  be  pulled  down, 
under  pretence  of  raising  on  its  site  a  temple 
to   Felicity   (which    was   actually    completed   by  Temple  of 

^     ^  .  '^  i^       •       ^'elifitj. 

Lepidus),  l)ut  really  in  order  that  a  new  Curia 
mii>:ht  be  built  to  bear  the  name  of  Julia.*^^     In  ^""'^ 

o  duiia. 

the  year  following  the  death  of  Julius,  an  order 
was  given  for  the  rel)uilding  of  the  Curia  Hostilia 
on  the  occasion  of  an  alarm  caused  by  various 
j)ortents  and  calamities,^  and  in  the  next  year  the 
Curia  Julia  was  erected  at  the  side  of  the  Comi- 
tiuni  in  pursuance  of  the  previous  decree.^ 

The  above  narrative  does  not  make  it  certain  Qu<i^t^on 

as  to  ideu- 

Avhethcr  the  Curia  Julia  stood  on  the  site  of  the  Curia  <^^^y  ^^  '^i*^®- 
Hostilia.     The  hrst  passage,  which  describes  the 
removal  of  the  proposed  Curia  Cornelia  to  make 
room  for  a  Temple  of  Felicity,  implies  an  intention 


*'*  \\ov\tvTi]pwv  Tf  Ti  Kaivov  TTOoyffrtt  (Krt/Vapi)  irpoaWa^av^  kireiSij  to 
'OtTTiXioi'  Kainep  uvoiKodofitiOtv  KaTyplOif  ■n-pn(l)afrtp  fitv  toi'  vabv  Vaitv' 
\ia{;  ivravOa  olno^ofiiiOi'ivat,  ov  Kai  6  A(:Tri^oc  iTnrapxiloat;  t^t'Troiz/fftj', 
tpyip  St  oTTwf  /'//re  tv  iKEivift  to  tov  "H^vXXov  ovofia  (toj^oito^  Kai  tTtpuv  tK 
KuivtiQ  KaTatTKevaaOiv  'lovXiov  ovonaaOt'u]      Dio  Cass,  xliv   5. 

*  Kai  Cid  TOVTO  to  t6  f3ovXtVTi)f}iov  to  'OcTiXiov  dvoiKocoiit]9i'ivai  ,  . 
t-il/i}(pifTOij.     Dio  Cass.  xlv.  17. 

*  To  (iovXtvTiipiov  TO  'lovXiov  ott'  avTOv  KXt]Oiv  irapd  Tt^  KofiiTUiJ  a*vo- 
/iu(T/uiv<^i  i>iKocofiovif,  iooTTi-p  tipi'itpKTTo.     Dio  Catss.  xlvii.  ID. 


154 


THE  ROMAN  FORUM. 


CHAP. 
IV. 


at  that  time  to  build  a  new  Curia  on  another 
site ;  and  the  completion  of  the  temple,  of  the 
subsequent  removal  of  which  not  a  word  is  said, 
seems  to  present  a  difficulty  in  supposing  the 
Curia  Julia  to  have  occupied  the  same  spot.  On 
the  other  hand,  the  decree  to  rebuild  the  Curia 
Hostilia,  and  the  description  of  the  position  of  the 
new  Curia,  which  corresponds  so  exactly  with 
that  of  the  old,  at  the  side  of  the  Comitium,*^^ 
leaves  the  impression  that  the  intention  to  seek 
another  position  was  abandoned,  and  that  the 
Curia  Julia  ultimately  occupied  the  site  of  the 
older  Curia.  It  should  be  added  that  no  further 
mention  is  found  of  the  Temple  of  Felicity.  The 
identification  of  the  Curia  Hostilia  and  the  Curia 
Julia  is  confirmed  by  the  expression  of  Livy,  who 
says  that  the  Curia  up  to  his  father's  time  bore 
the  name  of  Hostilia."  The  same  inference  may 
be  drawn  from  other  authors  subsequent  to  the 
rebuilding,  who  speak  of  the  Curia  as  an  individual 
monument  without  any  indication  of  a  change  of 
site  having  interrupted  its  identity. 

Curia,  praetexto  quae  nunc  nitet  alta  senatu, 
Pellitos  habuit,  rustica  corda,  patres.* 


*>"  Pliny  likewise  places  the  Curia  Julia  in  the  Comitium.  Plin. 
N.  H.  XXXV.  10.  (Note  428.)  The  new  Curia  was,  not  improbably, 
on  a  larger  scale  than  the  old.  The  adjoining  basilica,  which  was 
burnt  with  it,  may  have  afforded  room  for  its  extension. 

'  Liv.  i.  30    (Xote  410.) 

«  Propertius,  iv.  1,  11.  Mon.  Ancyr.  (Xote  437.)  Dionys.  iv.  38. 
(Xote  409.) 


THE  CURIA. 


155 


The  meaning  of  the  word  Curia  is  not  without     chap. 
its  bearing  upon  the  question  here  discussed.    This  ^^  — ^ 
word   was   undoubtedly   used   not   only  for   the  of^thcwmd 
regular  Senate-house,  but  for  any  place  where  the 
Senate  met.  and  also  for  the  Senate  itself.    Cicero 
boasts  that  during  his  consulate  he  had  always  on 
the  Rostra  defended  the  Curia,  and  in  the  Senate 
defended  the  people.'''    Sallust  speaks  of  Catiline 
bursting  out  of  the  Curia  when  the  Senate  was 
sitting  in  the  Temple  of  Jupiter  Stator,  though 
the  historian  does  not  mention  the  locality .^^     In 
one  of  the  anecdotes  of  Valerius  Maximus,  the 
Curia,    as    the    place    where    the    Senate    w^as 
actually  assembled,  is  contrasted  with  the  Hos- 
tilia.    The  Senate  invited   the   tribune   Drusus, 
who  w^as  at  the  Rostra,  to  come  to  the  Curia. 
*'  Why    does   not   the    Senate   rather,"   said   he, 
"come  to  the  Hostilia,  that  is,  to  me  ?"'     Still 
the  word  Curia,  when  used  of  a  locality  without 
reference  to  the  presence   of  the  Senate,  could 
only  mean  the  ordinary  place  of  meeting  for  the 
time  being  of  that  body. 

Durino-  the  interval  between  the  burning  of  the  Curia 

«^  /^  1  Ponipeia. 

Curia  Hostilia  and  the  death  of  Caesar,  the  great 

«»»  Ut  semper  in   rostris  Curiam,  in  senatu  populum  defenderim. 

Cic.  in  Pis.  3. 

29  Dein  se  ex  Curia  domum  proripuit.    Sallust.  Bell.  Catilin.    Cic. 

in  Catil.  i    1.  (Note  44.) 

»  Cum  senatus  ad  eum  misisset  ut  in  Curiam  veniret,  Quare  non 
potius,  inquit,  ipse  in  Ilostiliam,  propimiuam  Rostris,  id  est  ad  me, 
venit  y     Val.  Max.  ix.  5,  '1. 


15f) 


CHAP. 
IV. 


Ciniji 
Julia. 


THE  ROMAN  FOIiUM. 

hall  in  the  Porticus  of  Pooipey  was  the  usual 
meeting-place  of  the  Senate,  and  was  inaugurated 
for  this  purpose/^^  This  building  was  therefore 
for  the  time  the  Curia  ;  and  an  anecdote  told  by 
Suetonius,  in  which  the  word  is  used  without 
qualification,  probably  relates  to  this  building. 
Caesar  having  given  great  offence  to  the  Romans 
l)y  admitting  strangers,  especially  half- barbarous 
Gauls,  into  the  Senate,  some  wit  suggested,  as 
a  happy  thought,  that  they  should  all  agree  to 
refuse  to  show  a  new  senator  the  way  to  tlie 
Curia.^  So  Ovid  writes  with  reference  to  the 
death  of  Caesar : 

Neqne  eniin  locns  nllns  in  iirbe 
Ad  facinus  diramqiie  i)lacet  nisi  Curia  caedcni.^ 

The  Curia,  with  a  structure  called  the  Chalci- 
dicum  attached  to  it,  is  amono;  the  buildinc^-s 
claimed  by  Augustus  in  the  Ancyran  inscription/ 
It  was  dedicated  by  him  in  the  year  B.C.  29,  the 
same  year  in  which  he  celebrated  his  triple 
triumph  and  closed  the  Temple  of  Janus.     He 

*"  Confirmavitque  (Varro),  nisi  in  loco  per  augures  constituto, 
quod  templum  appellaretur,  senatus  consultuin  factum  esset,  iustuni 
id  non  fuisse  ;  propterea  et  in  Curia  Hostilia  et  in  Pompeia  et  post 
in  Inliii,  quum  profana  ea  loca  fuissent,  tenipla  esse  per  au«Tures 
eon?tituta,  ut  in  iis  senatus  consulta  more  maiorum  iusta  fieri 
possent.    A.  Gell.  xiv.  7. 

^  Peregrinis  in  senatum  allectis,  libellus  propositus  est:  bonum 
factum,  ne  quis  senatori  novo  Curiam  monstrare  velit.  Suetonius, 
lul.  80. 

*  Ovid,  Metam,  xv.  801. 

^  Man.  Ancyr.  (Note  437.) 


CURIA  JULTA. 


157 


placed  in  the  Curia  a  statue  of  Victory,  which     chap. 

IV 

remained  there  in  the  time  of  Dio.     This  statue       1 

came  originally  from  Tarentum  ;'''  it  was  carried  vklon^^ 
in    the  funeral   procession   of  Augustus.'       Two 
pictures,  placed  upon  the  walls  of  the  Curia  l)y  Pictures  in 
the  same  emperor,  preserved  the  names  of  their  jlliia""'' 
authors,   Nicias  and  Philochares,  to   the  age  of 
Pliny,  who  mentions,  as  a  singular  circumstance 
with  reference  to  the  material,  tliat  the  work  of 
Nicias    was  said,    in  his  own  inscription  on   the 
picture,  to  be  burnt  in.'^ 

The  Curia  Julia  is  mentioned  by  Suetonius  as  Later 
existing  at  the  death  of  Caligula,  when  the  Roman  tile  Curil. 
aristocracy  was  so  averse  to  the  rule  of  the 
Caesars,  that  tlie  consuls  convoked  the  Senate  in 
the  Capitol,  rather  than  in  the  Curia,  because  the 
latter  l)ore  the  name  of  Julia.'*  This,  it  appears, 
is  the  latest  mention  by  any  classical  writer  of 
the  Curia  Julia  as  an  existing  building.^^  It  was 
probably  ])urnt   down    in    the  time  of  Titus   or 

*^  To  r€  'kOiivaiov  Ka'i  to  XoXkicikov  wvofiaafitvov  Kai  to  f3ov\evTt)piov 
TO  'lovXieiov  TO  tTTi  Ty  TOO  TTttTpot;  avTOv  Tifiy  yevofievov  KaOieptofftv. 
lpt<TTt}<Tf  Se  tf  ai'To  TO  tiynXfjia  to  Tti^  Niic>/g  Kai  to  vvv  oV  .  .  ijv  St  St) 
Tutv  TapevTivujv.     Dio  Cass.  li.  22. 

^  Sueton.  Aug.  100.      ' 

*  Item  in  Curia  quoque,  quam  in  Comitio  consecrabat  (Augustus), 
duas  tabulas  impressit  parieti.     Nemeam  sedentem  supra  leonem 
Nicias   scripsit   se    inussisse,  tali    enim    usus   est   verbo.      Alterius 
tabulae  .  .  .  Philochares  hoc  suum   opus   esse  testatus  est.      Plin. 
XXXV.  10.     lb.  XXXV.  40.     (Note  36.) 

»  Sueton.  Calig.  fiO. 

=»"  Becker,  Handbuch,  i.  34G. 


158 


THE  ROMAN  FORUM. 


II 


CJJAP.     Domitian,  since  a  Senate-bouse  was  1)iiilt  by  tbe 
—      latter  emperor.''^'^    It  was  again  burnt  in  tbe  time  of 
Diocletian.^ 
Altar  of  Herodian  mentions  a  statue  and  altar  of  Vic- 

Victory 

removed ))y  torv,   wbicb    stood   in    tbe    Senate-bouse   in   tbe 

Christian  *^ 

influence.  reio:ns  of  Helio2:abalus  and  Maximin.^  Tbe  altar 
of  Victory  became  afterwards  a  central  point 
around  wbicb  was  waged  tbe  war  between  Cliris- 
tianity  and  expiring  Heatbendom.  It  appears  to 
bave  been  removed  by  Cbristian  influence  under 
tbe  emperor  Gratianus  in  tbe  year  a.d.  382,  and 
its  restoration  was  demanded  by  Symmacbus,  and 
opposed  by  Ambrose  as  offensive  to  tbe  conscience 
of  tbe  Cbristian  senators.^  Tbe  Cbristian  party 
is  said  to  bave  prevailed ;  but  an  allusion  of 
Claudian,  in  bis  description  of  Stilicbo's  reception 
by  tbe  senate  some  twenty  years  later,  seems  to 
imply  tbat  tbe  statue,  if  not  tbe  altar,  of  Victory 
was  tben  in  tbe  Senate-bouse. 


*'<>  Ilieron.  an.  xcii.  t.  i.  p.  443.  Rone. ;  Prosp.  Aquit.  p.  571 ; 
Cassiod.  Chron.  t.  ii.  p.  197  ;  Catal.  Imp.  Vienn.  p.  243.  (Becker, 
llandbuch,  i.  347.) 

>  Catal.  Imp.  Vienn.  (Xote  448.) 

'  Herodian,  v.  5  ;  ib.  vii.  11.    Die  Cass.  li.  22.  (Note  426.) 

'  Quis  ita  familiaris  est  barbaris  ut  aram  Victoriae  non  requirat? 
Relatio  Symmach.  i.  4.     Prudentius,  ed.  V^alpy,  p  683. 

Cum  vir  clar.  Praelectus  urbis  Symmachus  ad  clementiam  tiiam 
retulisset,  ut  ara  quae  de  urbis  Romae  Curia  sublata  fuerat  redde- 

jetur  loco,  etc Sic  deam  esse  et  Victoriam  crediderunt  .  .  . 

Hujus  aram  strui  in  urbis  Romae  Curia  petunt,  hoc  est,  quo  plures 
conveniunt  Christian!.  Ambros.  Epist.  in  Symra.  ibid.  pp.  689, 
699. 


J 


159 


CHAP. 
IV. 


CIIALCIDIOUM  OF  AUGUSTUS. 

Ducibus  circumstipata  togatis 
Jure  paludatae  iam  Curia  militat  aulae. 
Ad  fait  ipsa  suis  ales  Victoria  templis, 
Romanae  tutela  togae  :  quae  divite  pompa 
Patricii  reverenda  fovet  sacraria  coetus.^'"^* 

Tbe  Senatus,  as  tbe  building  itself  was  com- 
monly called  in  later  times,^  probably  continued 
to  exist  on  its  ancient  site  for   many  centuries. 
Botb  tbe  original  Curia  and  tbe  Curia  Julia  appear  Fence  of 
to  bave  been  guarded  by  some  sort  of  fence.^  ^""^' 

Wben    tbe    Curia  was   rebuilt    by  Augustus,  TheChai- 
be  joined  to  it  a   building,  wbicb  was  of  suffi-  AugulTus. 
cient   importance   to  be  specially  mentioned  in 
tbe    Ancyran    inscription,    and    is   tbere    called 
Cbalcidicum."     Tbe  cbaracter  of  tbis  monument 
is    matter    of   conjecture.     Vitruvius    speaks   of 
chcdcidica  as  proper  adjuncts  to  a  basilica,^  and 
a  chalcidlcum  is  named  in  an  inscription  found 
at  Pompeii,  descril)ing  tbe  various  parts  of  tbe 
building   tbere   discovered,  wbicb   is   called  tbe 
Hall  of  Eumacbia.     It  may  be  reasonably  sup- 
posed  tbat   tbe   Cbalcidicum  of  Augustus    con- 
tained waiting-rooms  and  offices  for  tbe   conve- 

*"  Claudian,  xxviii.  De  vi.  Cons.  Honor.  595. 

^  Senatum  dici  et  pro  loco  et  pro  hominibus.  A.  Gell.  xviii.  7. 
Compare  Plin.  N.  H.  vii.  54  (Xofe  407);  Pseudo-Ascon.  in  Cic. 
Verr.  II.  i.   22.  (Xote  389.) 

«  Cic.  Rep  ii.  17.  (Note  381.)  Propertius,  iv.  4.  13.  See  before, 
p.  151. 

^    CVRIAM  .    ET  .   CONTINENS    .    EI    .    CHALCIDICVM    .    .    .    FECI  .  MoH. 

Ancyr. 

«  Basilicarum  loca  adiuncta  foris.  Sin  autem  locus  erit  amplior 
in  lon«ritudine,  chalcidica  in  extremis  constituantur.     Vitruv.v.  1. 


160 


THE  ROMAN  FORUM. 


CHAP,     nience  of  the  senators.      The  dedication  of  the 
—       Chalcidicum  is  mentioned  by  Dio,  who  associates 
it  with  the    Curia,   and  with   a   building   called 
TO  WOi^vaiov^  unless,  as  has  been  long  suspected,  his 
Chalcidicum  and  Athenaeum  are  the  same.'^''     No 
subsequent  notice  is  found  of  the  Chalcidicum  under 
this   name.     But  in  the  Notitia   the  monument 
Atrium       mentioned  next  after  the  Senatus  in  the  eio-hth  Re- 
gion  IS  called  Atruun  Minervae,  and  this  buildino; 
appears  to  have  been  among  those  burnt  with  the 
Senatus  in  the  time  of  Diocletian.''^     A  temple  of 
Minerva  Chalcidica^   was   among    the   works    of 
Domitian,^  and  it  seems  not  improbable  that  the 
word  Chalcidicum,  as  appropriated  to  the  build- 
ing  of  Augustus,  was  connected  with  the  same 
goddess,  whose  image  may  have   consecrated  its 
hall,  and  that  the  foreign  name  was  rejected  by 
popular   usage   in    favour  of  the   more  familiar 
Atrium   Minervae.     We  have  seen  that   in  like 
manner  the  whole  residence  of  the  Vestals  was  in 
Pliny's  time  called  Atrium  Vestae,  a  name  which 
had  originally  belonged  to  a  part  of  the  Regia.' 

«"  'ETra  U  TUvTa  SiertXecTf,  to  rf.  'Xdnvaiov  kuI  to  XaXKioiKuv  wpofiarrftf- 

VOV  Kai    TO    (iovXfvHipiOV  TO    'lovXieiOU,  to    .TT,'     ry    to?    TCOTpOQ    ahTOV    Tipy 

y^pofievov,  KaMpoxrev.  Dio  Cass.  li.  22.  The  readin-,  'X9;,vcaov  to 
Kai  XaXKi^iKov  ojvoftatTfihov,  was  suggested  by  Reimar  in  the  edition 
of  1750. 

*"  Catal.  Imp.  Vienn.   (Xote  448.) 

•  The  temple  of  IMinerva  Chalcidica  is  mentioned  in  the  Notitia  in 
the  ninth  Region,  [ts  name  is  still  preserved  in  that  of  the  church 
of  Santa  Maria  sopra  Minerva. 

=  Eusebius  or  Hieron.  01.  217,  p.  443.  Rone,  (liecker,  Iland'uuch, 
•  ^^'^O  ^  See  p.  125. 


THE  GRAECOSTASIS. 


161 


Upon  the  Comitium,  at  the  side  of  the  Curia,     chap. 
and  to  its  right,  was,  as  we  learn  from  Varro,  a      — 
terrace  or  platform  called  the  Graecostasis^    This  I^lfi"' 
is  described  as  a  place  in  which  the  ministers  of 
friendly  states  might  pass  their  time  while  await- 
ing an  audience  of  tlie  Senate.''^     In  speaking  of 
this  monument  as  being  to  the  right  of  the  CuHa, 
we  understand  Varro  to  mean  that  it  was  to  thj 
right  of  a  person  standing  in  front  of  the  Curia  and 
looking  from  it.  Cicero,  in  a  letter  to  liis  brother, 
describes  the  followers  of  Clodius  as  disturbing 
the    Senate    by  their  shouting  from    tlie   Grae"^ 
costasis  and  from  the   steps,— apparently  of  the 
Curia.'      The  Graecostasis    seems   to  have  been 
an  open  area,  since  we  read  of  the  prodigy  of  a 
shower  of  milk  falling  there.' 

The  Graecostasis,  or  a  monument  called  by  a  TheGrae- 
similar  name,  existed  in  the  time  of  Antoninus  ''''''^'""'' 
Pius,  by  whom   it  Avas    restored   after  fire.'     A 
building  called  Graecostadium  was   also  rebuilt 
by   Diocletian,'  and  is  named  in   tlie  Curiosum 

*"  Varro,  L.  L.  v.  32.  (Xote  402.) 

^  Deinde  eius  (Clodi)  operae  repente  a  Graecostasi  et  gradibus 
clamorem  satis  magnum  sustulerant.     Cic.  ad  Quint,  fr.  ii.  1. 

«  Caio  Cassio   Longino,   Caio    Sextilio  Coss    in  Graecostasi  lacte 
pluit.    lul.  Obseq.  p.  69  (ed.  Paris,  1533).     Anton,  P.  c.  8.     Varro 
L.  L.  V.  32.  (Note  402.)  ' 

'  Opera  eius  haec  extant,  Romae  . . .  Graecostadium  post  incendlum 
restitutum.     Capitolinus,  Anton.  Pius,  c.  8.     (Hist.  Aug.  Script.) 

«  Opera  publica  arserunt  Senatum,  foium  Caesaris,  "patrimonium 
[Atrium  Minervae,  Preller]  basilicam  Tuliam  et  Graecostadium. 
Catal.  Imp.  Vienn.  Preller,  Regionen,  p.  143. 

M 


1G2 


THE  KOMAN  FORUM. 


CHAP. 
IV. 


VnlcjiHiil. 


of  tlie  time  of  Constantine."*^^  But  on  both  these 
occasions  it  is  mentioned  in  conjunction  with 
tlie  Basilica  Julia  ;  and  it  is  probable  that  the 
Graecostasis  did  not  exist  at  this  period  on  its 
old  site  as  described  hy  Varro.'^*' 

In  connection  with  the  Comitium  should  be 
noticed  the  Vul canal.  From  the  expressions  of 
the  Greek  writers  upon  Roman  antiquities,  it 
would  ])e  concluded  that  this  was  a  temple  of 
Vulcan.  Dionysius  and  Plutarch  generally  call 
it  TO  Tov  'R(j)a[aTou  lepov^  and  the  latter  even  calls  it 
vao^}  But  we  learn  from  the  Latin  authors,  who 
frequently  call  it  Area  Vulcani,  that  it  was  an 
open  space  in  which  trees  grew,  and  upon  which 
a  shower  of  ])lood  was  believed  to  have  fellen.^ 
riiny  says  that  Romulus  founded  the  Vulcanal  in 
memory  of  one  of  his  victories  ;^  and  Dionysius 
and  Plutarch  speak  of  a  1)ronze  quadriga  said  to 
have  been  dedicated  by  Romulus  in  the  Sacrum  of 
Vulcan  out  of  the  spoils  of  Camerium.'  It  is 
one    of   Plutarch's    questions    on    Roman    Anti- 

"»  Vicum  Tugariuni,  Graecostadium,  basilicam  luliam.     Curiosum 
in  Regione  viii.     See  Appendix. 
^^  Seep.  183. 

•  Plutarch,  Quaest.  Rom.  47.  (Note  455.)  Dionys.  ii.  50,  vi.  67. 
(Note  456.) 

-  Quod  sanguine  per  hiduuni  pluisset  in  area  Vulcani.  Liv. 
xxxix.  46.  In  area  Vulcani  et  Concordiae  sanguinem  pluit.  Liv. 
xl.  19.  In  area  Vulcani  per  biduuni,  in  area  Concordiae  totldem 
diebus,  sanguinem  pluit.  lul.  Obs.  p.  61  (ed.  Paris,  1533).  Plin. 
N.  II.  xvi.  86.  (Note  463.) 

^  Plin.  N.  II.  xvi.  86.  (Note  463.) 

*   Dionys.  ii.  54;  Plutarch,  Rom.  24. 


THE  VULCANAL. 


163 


quities  why  Romulus  founded  this  sacred  place 
outside  his  city  ;  and  he  supposes  it  to  have  l>een 
a  secret  meeting-place  for  the  two  kings  and  their 
senators. ''^^ 

Dionysius  frequently  speaks  of  the  Vulcanal 
as  the  usual  place  of  pul)lic  assembly  in  the  early 
age  of  Roman  History.  This  appears  to  identify 
it  with  the  Comilium;  and,  as  this  historian  makes 
no  distinct  mention  of  the  Comitium  bv  its  ordi- 
nary  name,  his  Ilephaesteum  can  hardly  be  taken 
otherwise  than  as  another  name  for  that  locality.*' 
In  other  authors  the  Vulcanal  is  clearly  a  distinct 
area.  It  contained  an  altar,  at  which  a  singular 
sacrifice  was  performed,  tlie  small  fish  caught  in 

*"  A(tt  Ti  TO  TOV  'HtpaiffTOV  \epov  tKut  TroXewg  6  'PwfivXog  icpvaaro;  .  .  . 
qiKoSofit'ie,}  ^e  6  vadg  IK  ctpxnQ,  <rvviCpiov  Kai  (3ov\evr,)piov  dTToppijrov 
avT(p  fitTu  TaTiov  tov  av^i^amXeimavToi:,  ottioq  avviuvTeQ  tvravOa  perd 
Tiov  yepovTiov,  k.t.X.  Plutarch.  Quaest.  Rom.  47.  Compare  the  ac- 
count the  same  writer  gives  of  the  Comitium,  Plutarch.  Rom.  19. 
(Note  388.) 

«  'Ayopav  avToOi  KaTeaTi'iaavTO,  y  Kal  vvv  hi  xpiopevoi  'Pwpaioi  CiaTS- 
Xovm'  Kctl  Tovg  (Tvi^oCovg  tVTavQa  Ittoiovvto  tv  'WtpaiaTOv  xpn^^aTiW'Teg 
\fp(p^  piKpbv  tTravtcTTijKoTi  Ttjg  dyopag.     Dionys.  ii.  50. 

'Eiiytaav  tTri  Tt)v  dyopiW  .  .  kcii  TrapeXOovTtg  tm  to  Upov  to? 
'H(pai(TT0V,  tvQa  i/v  tdog  avToJg  Tar  tKKX}]aiag  iiriTtXelv^  irpihTov  ptv 
unjv^aav  tov  ci'ifiov,  <crX.     Dionys.  vi.  67. 

KnTaXdiSopfvot  to  'U(patrTTt7oi',  tv9a  t)v  Wag  avTolg  tKKXijmd^HV, 
tk-aXovv  ptv  eig  tKKXtirriav  tov  cTipov.      Dionys.  vii.  17. 

'Avaiidg  tiri  tov  'WtpaicfTov  to  lepov,  UaXft  (o  'AirTTtog)  tov  It^ifiov  fig 
iKKX7j(Tiav.     Dionys.  xi.  39. 

These  passages  should  be  compared  with  that  in  which  the  same 
author  speaks  of  the  part  of  the  Comitium  before  the  Curia  as 
to  iKKXi}(Tiacrr{ipiov.  Dionys.  iv.  38.  (Note  409  )  Elsewhere  he  uses 
another  paraphrase  for  the  same  locality:  to  KpuTiaTov  x^o'""  ('' 
KpaTKTTog  TOTTog)  Tt'ig  dyopdg.  Dionys.  i.  87;  iii.  1.  (Note  481.)  tu 
(pavfpojTciTov  Ttjg  dyopag^  ib.  ii.  29.  (Note  384). 

M  2 


CHAP. 
IV. 


IIo])}iaes- 

touni  of 

Dionysins 

identical 

with 

Comitium. 


164 


CHAP. 
IV. 

The  Vul- 
canal 
above  the 
Coniitium. 


Statue  of 

Horatius 

Codes 

removed 

from  Co- 

mitium  to 

Vulcanal. 


THE  ROMAN  FORUM. 

the  Tiber  being  there  offered  alive  to  Vulcan  in 
atonement  for  human  lives.^" 

The  Vulcanal  adjoined  the  Comitium,  and  was 
at  a  higher  elevation.^  This  is  expressly  stated  l)y 
Festus,  in  speaking  of  a  column  and  statue  placed 
there  in  memory  of  an  actor  or  gladiator,  whose 
death  by  lightning  in  the  Circus  was  followed  by 
some  prodigies,  on  account  of  which  his  bones  were 
removed  from  their  first  burial-place  to  this  spot. 

Gellius  tells  a  story  about  another  statue,  which 
also  illustrates  the  difference  of  level  of  these  areas. 
The  statue  of  Horatius  Codes,  which  stood  in 
the  Comitium,  was  struck  by  lightning.  Public 
superstition  being  alarmed,  Etruscan  augurs  were 
sent  for,  under  whose  perfidious  advice  the  statue 
was  removed  to  a  lower  situation,  where  it  was 
shaded  by  buildings.  Treachery  being  suspected, 
the  augurs  were  arraigned,  confessed,  and  were 
put  to  death.  It  was  now  clear  that  the  statue 
ought  to  have  been  placed  on  a  higher  level,  and 
it  was  accordingly  removed  to  the  Vulcanal,  with 

*"  Piscatorii  ludi  vocantur  qui  quodannis  mense  lunio  trans  Tibe- 
rim  fieri  solent  a  PR.  Urbane  pro  piscatoribus  Tiberinis,  quorum 
quaestus  non  in  Macellum  pervenit  sed  fere  in  aream  Volcani,  quod 
id  genus  pisciculorum  vivorum  datur  ei  Deo  pro  animis  humanis. 
Festus,  ed  Miill.  p.  238. 

Volcanalia  a  Volcano,  quod  ei  tum  feriae,  et  quod  eo  die  populus 
pro  se  in  ignem  animalia  miltlt.     Varro,  L.L.  vi.  3  (57). 

«  Statua  est  ludi  eius,qui  quondam,  fulmine  ictus  inCirco,sepuUus 
est  in  laniculo:  cuius  ossa  postea  ex  prodigis  oraculorumque  respon- 
sis  senatus  decreto  intra  urbem  relata  in  Volcanali,  quod  est  supra 
Comitium,  obruta  sunt,  superque  ea  columpna,  cum  ipsius  effigie, 
posita  est.     Festus,  ed.  Miill.  p.  290. 


TEMPLE  OF  CONCORD.  1(55 

the  best  results  to  the  Common  wealth. '''  This  chap. 
ancient  statue,  Avhicli  was  believed  to  have  been  — 
erected  to  the  hero  in  his  lifetime,  still  existed 
in  the  time  of  Pliny.'^  It  probably  owed  its 
preservation  to  its  removal,  since  the  ancient 
statues  of  the  Comitium  appear  for  the  most  part 
to  have  been  destroyed  during  the  alterations 
which  took  place  upon  that  area. 

The  temple  which  was  dedicated  to  Concord,  Temple  of 
B.C.  310,  by  Cn.  Flavius,  curule  aedile,  in  spite  on  The 
of  the  opposition  of  the  patricians,  is  placed  by  ^"^'''°^^' 
Livy  in  the  Area  of  Vulcan.^    But  Pliny  describes 
the  same  temple  as  a  small  building  of  bronze 
erected  in  a  Graecostasis  which  was  then  above 

*''  Statua  Romae  in  comitio  posita  Iloratii  Coclitis  fortissimi  viri 
de  caelo  tacta  est  .  .  .  haruspices  ex  Etruria  acciti  .  .  .  illam  sta- 
tuam  suaserunt  in  inferiorem  locum  perperam  transponi,  quern  sol 
oppositu  circum  undique  aliarum  aedium  nunquam  illustraret 
Constititque  earn  statuam  ...  in  locum  editum  subducendam,  atque 
ita  in  area  Vulcani,  sublimiori  loco,  statuendam ;  eaqueres  bene  et 
prospere  rei  publicae  cesyit.  A.  Gell.  iv.  .1. 
«»  Plin.  N.  II.  xxxiv.  11.     (Note  535.) 

•  Civile  ius  repositum  in  penetralibus   pontificura  (Cn.   Flavius) 
evulgavit,  fastosque  circa  forum  in  albo  proposuit.  ut  quando  le-e 
agi  posset  sciretur  :  aedem  Concordiae  in  area  Vulcani  summa  invidia 
nobilium  dedicavit.  Liv.  ix.  46.    Cic.  pro  Murena,  11;  A.  Gell.  vi.  9. 
Hie  (Flavius)  namque  publicatis  diebus   fastis,   quos  populus  a 
paucis  principum  quotidie  petebat,  tantam  gratiam  plebis  adeptus  est, 
alioqui  libertino  patre  genitus  et  ipse  Appii  Caeci  scriba,  cuius  hor- 
tatu  exceperat  eos  dies  consultando  assidue  sagaci  ingenio  promulga- 
veratque,  ut  aedilis  curulis  crearetur  ....  Flavius  vovit  aedem  Con- 
cordiae, si  populo  reconciliasset  ordines.     Et  quum  ad  id   pecunia 
publica  non  decerneretur,  ex  multatitia  feneratoribus  condemnatis 
aediculam  aeream  fecit  in  Graecostasi,  quae  tunc  supra  Comitium  erat. 
Inciditque  in  tabella  aerea  earn  aedem  trecentis  quatuor  annis  post 
Capitolinam  dedicatam.     Plin.  N.  H.  xxxiii.  6. 


160 


THE  ROMAN  FOHUM. 


THE  SENACULUM. 


1()7 


CHAP,     the   Comitiuin.     This  aecUcula,  with    tlie   Grae- 

IV 

— '-       eostasis  in  which  it  was  placed,  liad  disappeared 

before  Pliny's  tinie.^*^^ 

Fasti  imnj?       The  Same  Flavins,  who  had  been  a  clerk  of  the 

Forum.       censor  Appins  Clandins  the  Blind,  hnng  around 

the  Forum  tablets  containini^  the  Roman  Calendar 

of  dies  fasti  and  ncfasf  I,  for  the  knowledge  of  which 

the  people  had  previously^  been  dependent  on  the 

pontifices. 

Vukanai         There  still  remained  in  the  time  of  the  empire 

of  the  time  .  n  ^-^    i  •  i*i  j_  a.  r 

of  Pliny,  an  Area  of  Vulcan,  m  which  grew  two  trees  oi 
remarkable  age,  supposed  to  be  coeval  with  the 
city.  One  of  these,  a  cypress,  fell  down  about 
the  end  oi'  Nero's  reign  ;  the  other,  a  lotos, 
existed  in  the  time  of  Pliny,  and  had  roots  which, 
according   to   that   author,    extended   under   the 

statioiies     Statioucs  Muuicipiorum  as  far  as  the  Forum  of 

Mnnici-  tip  i  • 

piorum.  Lacsar.  \V  e  may  conclude  irom  tins  statement 
that  between  the  Vulcanal  of  Pliny  and  the  last- 

*•'■-'  The  Graecostasis  so  placed  can  scarcely  have  been  the  same  as 
tlie  Graecostasis  to  tlie  right  of  the  Curia,  described  by  Varro,  and 
mentioned  by  Pliny  in  speaking  of  the  observation  of  mid-day. 
(Plin.  N.  II.  vii.  60.)  The  latter  was  in  the  Comitium,  and  pro- 
jected, as  we  shall  see,  in  front  of  the  Curia.  See  further,  p.  177, 
The  expression  supra  Comitium  (lb.  xxxiii.  6.  Note  402)  means,  as 
in  Festus's  Vulcanal  supra  Comitium  (Note  458)  and  Varro's  Sena- 
culum  supra  Graecostasiu  (Note  402),  on  the  higher  level  behind  it. 
Pliny's  phrase,  Graecostasis  quae  tunc  erat  supra  Comitium,  points 
to  a  monument  on  a  site  not  generally  connected  with  the  name. 

3  Verum  altera  lotos  in  Vulcanali  quod  Komulus  constituit  ex 
victoria  de  decumis,  aequaeva  urbi  intelligitur,  ut  auctor  est  Masu- 
rius.  Kadices  eius  in  forum  usque  Caesaris  per  stationes  munici- 
pioruni  penetrant.  Fult  cum  ea  cupressus  aequalis,  circa  suprema 
Neronis  principis  prola})sa  atque  neglecta.     Plin.  N.  II.  xvi.  86. 


I 


named  Forum  was  a  monument,  which  probably     chap. 
answered  a  similar  purpose  for  the  use  of  the  re-       — '- 
presentatives  of  subject  municipia  as  the  Graeco- 
stasis for  those  of  foreign  nations. 

In   Varro's  account   of  the   objects   near   the  iSena. 
Curia,  he  proceeds,  from  the  Graecostasis  upon 
the  Comitium  at  the  right  of  the  Curia,  to  the 
Senaculum,  which  was  at  a  higher  level.     This  is 
described  as  a  waiting-place  used  by  the  senators 
themselves,  and  in  which  they  appear  to  liave  held 
conferences  with  those  magistrates  who  had  not 
the  entry  of  the  Senate."'^  We  meet  with  it  in  Livv, 
B.C.  174,  when  it  would  seem  that  a  covered  o:al- 
lery  was  constructed,  or  paved,  from  the  Temple 
of  Saturn  to  the  Senaculum,  and,  further  on,  to 
the  Curia.^     The  site  of  this  ancient  Senaculum  Temple  of 
is  identified  by  Varro  with  that  of  the  Temple  ^^ 
of  Concord  and  Basilica  Opimia.     Festus  also,  on  ^i*""^*- 
the   authority    of  Nicostratus,   an    older  author, 
says  that  there  was  formerly  a  Senaculum  in  the 
place  where  in  later  times  the  Temple  of  Concord 
stood,  between  the  Capitol  and  the  Forum.'     The 

««  Varro  L.  L.  v.  32  (43).  (Note  402.)  Festus,  ed.  Mull.  p.  347. 
(Note  467.) 

^  Censores  .  .  .  clivum  Capitolinum  silice  sternendum  curaverunt, 
et  porticum  ab  aede  Saturni  in  Capitolium  ad  Senaculum  ac  super  id 
Curiam.  Liv.  xli.  27.  The  reading  is  evidently  defective  in  some 
way,  so  that  the  passage  is  not  reliable  as  topographical  evidence. 

"  Senacula  tria  fuisse  Romae,  in  quibus  senatus  haberi  solitus  sit, 
memoriae  prodidit  Nicostratus  in  libro,  qui  inscribitur  de  Senatu  ha- 
bendo :  unum  ubi  nunc  est  aedis  Concordiae  inter  Capitolium  et  Forum, 
in  quo  solebant  magistratus  D.  T.  cum  senioribus  deliberare.  Festus, 
ed.  Mull.  p.  347. 


168 


CHAP 
IV. 


What  was 
the  Sena- 
culum? 


THE  ROMAN  FORUM. 

name  of  Senaculuin  Ions:  ling-ered  in  connection 
with  the  spot,  and  was  probably  applied  to  the 
great  portico  of  Concord,  or  the  space  in  front  of 
it,  for  Valerius  Maximus,  writing  in  the  time  of 
Tiberius,  sajs  that  the  senators  used  formerly  to 
wait,  before  they  were  summoned  into  the  Curia, 
at  the  place  which  was  still  to  that  day  called 
Senatulum.^'^  And  Macrobius  asserts  that  the  altar 
of  Saturn,  which  was  probably  not  far  from  the 
temple  of  that  god,  stood  (in  the  writer's  time) 
before  the  Senaculum.  The  Temple  of  Concord 
formed  a  convenient  place  for  waiting  before 
going  into  the  Curia,  since  we  read  that  Pertinax, 
on  his  election  as  emperor,  coming  late  on  the 
last  night  of  the  year  from  the  Camp  to  the 
Senate,  sat  down  in  this  temple  until  the  porter 
could  be  found  to  open  the  Curia.^ 

Whether  the  Senaculum  was  an  inclosed  build- 
ing, or  a  porticus^  or  a  terrace,  or  merely  a 
locality  so  called  from  the  use  made  of  it,  we 
have  no  distinct  information.     Livy's  notice  of  it 


^'^  Antea  senatus  assiduam  stationem  eo  loco  peragebat,  qui  hodie 
quoque  senatulumappellatur,  nee  expectabat  ut  edicto  contraheretur, 
sed  inde  cltatus  protinus  in  Curiam  veniebat.  .  .  .  Illud  quoque 
memoria  repetendum  est,  quod  tribunis  plebis  intrare  Curiam  non 
licebat ;  ante  valvas  autem  positis  subselliis  decreta  patrum  .... 
exammabant,  et  si  qua  ex  iis  improbassent  rata  esse  non  sinerent. 
Valer.  Max.  ii.  2,  6. 

>  Habet  (Saturnus)  aram  et  ante  Senaculum:  illlc  Graeco  ritu 
capite  aperto  res  divina  fit,  quia  primo  a  Pelasgis,  post  ab  Hercule, 
ita  earn  a  principio  factitalam  putant.  Macrob.  Saturn,  i.  8.  Dionys. 
i.  34;  vi.  1.    (Note  55.) 


TEMPLE  OF  CONCORD. 


169 


throws  no  light  upon  this  question.  Festus,  or 
the  author  whom  he  cites,  appears  to  speak  of  it 
as  a  monument  which  had  been  displaced  by  the 
Temple  of  Concord.  But  neither  Valerius  Maxi- 
mus nor  Varro  know  anvthin^;  of  the  Senaculum 
except  as  a  locality.  The  former  mentions  it  as 
a  place  which  was  still  so  called.  The  latter 
fixes  it  where  the  Temple  of  Concord  and  Basilica 
Opimia  stood,  and  gives  no  indication  that  he  is 
speaking  of  a  monument  which  had  been  removed 
to  make  room  for  those  buildings. 

Beyond  its  mention  by  Varro,  nothing  is  known 
of  the  Basilica  Opimia.  It  is  conjectured  to  have 
been  the  work  of  L.  Opimius,  consul  B.C.  121,  the 
rebuilder  of  the  Temple  of  Concord.  It  was  pro- 
bably destroyed  before  the  restoration  of  that 
temple  by  Tiberius.  Its  site  may  have  been 
partly  used  for  the  enlargement  of  the  Temple  of 
Concord,  which  it  appeal's  to  have  adjoined,  and 
may  have  extended  to  the  ground  afterwards 
occupied  by  the  Temple  of  Vespasian. 

Havino^  reached  in  this  direction  the  limits  of 
the  Forum  at  the  base  of  the  Capitol,  we  will  now 
return  to  the  front  of  the  Curia.^'^ 

It  is  said  that  in  early  times  benches  were 
placed  before  the  doors  of  this  building  for  the 
accommodation  of  the  Tribunes  of  the  Plebs,  who 
were  not  admitted  into  the  senate. 

♦■-  Factus  autem  sexagenario  maior  imperator,  pridie  Kal.  Ian.  de 
castris  nocte  quum  ad  Senatum  venisset,  et  cellani  Curiae  iussisset 


CHAP. 
IV. 


The  Sena- 
culum in 
Varro  and 
Valerius 
a  locality. 


Basilica 
Opimia. 


Its  site. 


Benches 
of  the 
Tribunes. 


170 


CHAP. 
IV. 

Statue 
of  Attus 
Navius. 


1{uniinu1 
fij^-tree. 


THE  ROMAN  FORUM. 

Upon  the  steps  to  the  left  of  the  Curia  stood  in 
the  time  of  the  Republic  the  bronze  statue  of  the 
famous  augur  Attus  Navius,  whicli  was  believed 
to  have  been  placed  here  by  King  Tarquinius 
Priscus,  and  which  existed  on  the  spot  until  the 
time  of  Dionysius,  who  describes  it  as  less  than  a 
man  of  ordinary  stature,  with  the  head  veiled. 
This  curious  relic  was  probably  removed  during 
the  rebuilding  of  the  Curia.  Livy  speaks  of  it  in 
the  past  tense,  and  Pliny  tells  us  that  the  pedestal 
was  burnt  in  the  fire  that  destroyed  the  Curia  at 
the  funeral  of  Clodius.  Close  by  were  said  to  be 
buried  the  razor  and  whetstone  with  which  Navius 
performed  his  miracle;  the  site  of  this  sacred 
deposit  being  marked  by  a  monument  called  the 
Puteal.''* 

Before  the  Curia,  near  the  statue  of  Navius, 
grew  a  sacred  %-tree,'  which  appears   to   have 

aperiri,   neque   inveniretiir  aedituus,  in  templo  Concordiae  resedit. 
Capitolin.  Pertin.  4. 

*'*  Statua  Atti  capite  velato,  quo  in  loco  res  acta  est,  in  Comitio  in 
gradil)us  ipsis  ad  laevam  Curiae  fuit:  cotem  quoqueeodeni  loco  sitani 
iui.se  ineniorant,  ut  esset  ad  posteros  niiraculi  ejus  monunientuni. 
Liv.  i.  36. 

Cotem  autem  illam  et  novaculani  defossani  in  Comitio  supraque 
impositum  Puteal  accepimus.     Cicero  de  Div.  i.  17.     See  p.  V29. 

Namque  et  Atti  Navii  statua  fuit  ante  Curiam  cuius  basis  confla- 
gravit  Curia  incensa  Puhlii  Clodii  funere.     Plin.  N.  II.  xxxiv.  II. 

ElKova  KaraaKfvcwai:  avrov  xa\^//i/  (o  TapKvviog)  cdarti^ev  im  r,}^ 
ayopag'  i)  Kai  eig  i^u  ,)v  tri  ^p6  rov  iiovX.vrnpiov  Ks,,,ivn,  7r\r,,riov  r,}^ 
lepag  avKng,  IXarnov  dv^pog  ^erpiov,  t,)v  7repifh\,)v  txovna  Kara  rr,g 
K^<pa\r,g.  6Xiyo^>  ^e  drroOn^  ai,rr,g  i}  re  uKovr,  ysypd^Oac  [qu.  .e^p^,00„O 
A.yfra,  Ka,  6  ^vpog  kutii  yr,g  vtto  fiojfufi  run.      Dionjs.  iii.  71. 

•■•  Dionys.  iii.  71.  (Note  474.) 


RUMINAL  FIG-TREE. 

been  once  called  Ficus  Navia,  from  some  tradi- 
tional association  with  the  augur,^'*^  but  had  become 
by  the  time  of  Tacitus  identified  in  popular  belief 
with  the  Ruminal  Fig-tree,  the  original  site  of 
which  was  at  the  foot  of  the  hill  called  Germalus, 
at  the  western  corner  of  the  Palatine  on  the  road 
to  the  Circus  Maximus.'  In  a  somewhat  confused 
passage  of  Pliny's  Natural  History,  he  alludes  to 
a  story  of  the  tree  having  been  miraculously 
transplanted  to  the  Comitium.  Whenever  it 
withered  it  was  planted  anew  by  the  priests.^ 
Tacitus  mentions  an  occasion  when  the  dvins; 
down  of  the  Ruminal  Fig-tree,  as  it  was  called, 

*'^  Ficus  quoque  in  Comitio  appellatur  Navia  ab  Atto  Navio 
augure.  Festus,  ed.  Miill.  p.  169.  The  story  of  the  growth  of  the 
fig-tree  according  to  a  prediction  of  Navius,  and  of  its  miraculous 
preservation,  is  told  by  Festus,  but  the  text  is  for  the  most  part 
supplied  by  conjecture. 

^  Germalum  a  germanis  Romulo  et  Remo,  quod  ad  ficum  Runii- 
naleni  ii  ibi  inventi.  Varro,  L.  L.  v.  8  (17).  Dionys,  i.  79.  (Note 
223.)    Plutarch,  Rom.  3,  4. 

»  Colitur  ficus  arbor  in  foro  ipso  ac  comitio  Romae  nata,  sacra 
fulguribus  ibi  conditis,  magisque  ob  memoriam  eius,  quae  nutrix 
Romuli  ac  Remi  conditoris  imperi  in  Lupercali  prima  protexit, 
Ruminalis  apj)t'llata,  quoniam  sub  ea  inventa  est  lupa  infiintibus 
ju-aebens  rumim,  ita  vocabant  raammam,  miraculo  ex  aere  iuxta 
dicato,  tanquam  in  Comitium  sponte  transisset,  Atto  Navio  augu- 
rante  ;  nee  sine  praes-agio  aliquo  arescit,  rursusque  cura  sacerdotum 
seritur.     Plin.  N.  H.  xv.  20  (ed.  Sillig). 

[Ruminalem  ficum  nppel]latam  ait  Varro  [prope  Curiam  sub 
veter]ibus  quod  sub  ea  ar[bore  lupa  a  monte  decurrens]  Remo  et 
Romulo  [mammam  praebuerit,  mannnja  autem  rumis  di[cebatur]. 
Festue,  ed.  Miill.  270.  The  clauses  in  brackets  were  supplied  by 
Scaliger  and  Ursinus,  and  the  words  prope  Curiam  sub  veterihus  are 
inconsistent  with  our  present  knowledge,  and  with  Varro,  L.  L.  v.  8. 
(Note  477.) 


171 


CHAP. 
IV. 


I 


172 


THE  ROMAN  FORUM. 


CHAR 
IV. 


Lion  of 
Faustulus. 


Columna 
Maenia. 


on  the  Comitium,  gave  rise  to  some  public  un- 
easiness, which  was  allayed  by  the  appearance  of 
fresh  shoots/^^ 
The  Rostra       The  ])Osition  of  the  Rostra  in  front  of  the  Curia 

of  the  ^ 

Comitium.  and  upon  the  edge  of  the  Comitium  has  been 
already  mentioned.  They  were  removed  from 
this  site  in  the  year  preceding  the  assassination  of 
Caesar,  probably  during  some  of  the  alterations 
that  accompanied  the  rebuilding  of  the  Curia.^^ 

On  the  Comitium,  by  the  side  of  the  Rostra, 
was  in  early  times  a  stone  lion,  which  was  be- 
lieved to  mark  the  site  of  the  death  and  1)urial  of 
Faustulus.^ 

Another  ancient  monument  of  the  Comitium 
was  the  Columna  Maenia,  mentioned  by  Plin}^  as 
one  of  the  oldest  commemorative  monuments  of 
Rome,  but  which  had  apparently  been  removed 
before  he  wrote.  It  was  erected  in  honour  of 
C.  Maenius,  the  conqueror  of  the  Latins,  in  whose 
consulate,  B.C.  338,  the  rostra  of  the  ships  taken 
at  Antium  were  fixed  on  the  suggestum.^  This 
monument  appears  to  have  been  near  one  of  the 
entrances  of  the  Forum  in  the  larger  sense  of  the 

*'»  Eodem  anno  Ruminalem  arborem  in  Comitio,  quae  super  octin- 
gentos  et  quadraginta  ante  annos  Remi  Romulique  infantiam  texerat, 
mortuis  ramalibus  et  arescente  trunco  diminutam  prodigii  loco  ba- 
bitum  est,  donee  in  novos  fetus  reviresceret.     Tac.  Ann.  xiii.  5S. 

»"  See  more  as  to  the  history  of  the  Rostra  in  Chapter  V. 

»  TivkQ  Se  Kai  Tbv  Xsoura  rov  \i9ivov,  oq  tKe.ro  rr,g  ccyopug  Trjg  rdv 
'Piofiaiiov  Iv  T>p  Kparianp  x^^pi^p  Trapa  ro7t>  ^i,(36\otg,  IttI  r<i>  awfiavL  tov 
^avarvXov  TeOijval  (paaiv^  tvOa  tTreaep.     Dionys.  i.  87. 

■'  Antiquior  eolumnarum  (celebratio),  sicut  C.;Maenio,  qui  devi^ 


COLUMNA  MAENIA. 


173 


word.  For  on  the  occasion  of  the  tribune  Sextius, 
who  had  distinguished  himself  by  his  exertions 
for  the  recall  of  Cicero  from  exile,  attending  a 
gladiatorial  spectacle,  he  had  come  as  far  as  the 
Maenian  Column,  when  he  was  received  with 
general  applause,  which  extended  to  the  stands 
on  the  Capitoline  slope,  and  was  repeated  from 
the  railings  of  the  Forum .^^^ 

At  the  Maenian  Column  was  the  tribunal  of 
the  Triumviri  Capitales,  the  principal  Criminal 
Court  of  Rome.  This  tribunal  appears  from  an 
allusion  of  Cicero  to  have  had  a  special  class  of 
advocates  practising  before  it,  the  Old  Bailey  Bar 
of  the  Forum. '^ 

Upon  the  Comitium  also  in  the  time  of  the 
Republic  stood  two  statues,  the  history  of  which 
is  a  singular  one.  On  occasion  of  one  of  the 
reverses  which  befel  the  Roman  arms  in  the 
second  Samnite  War,  about  three  centuries  before 
the  Christian  era,  the  Senate  applied  to  Delphi 
for  advice,  and  were  commanded  by  the  oracle 

cerat  priscos  Latinos  .  .  .  eodemque  in  consulatu  in  suggestu  rostra 
devictis  Antiatibus  fixerat  anno  urbis  ccccxvi.  Item  C.  Duilio,  qui 
primus  navalcm  triumphum  egit  de  Poenis,  quae  est  etiam  nunc  in 
foro,     Plin.  N.  H.  xxxiv.  11. 

♦"  Cic.  Sext.  58.  (Note  223.)  As  to  the  site  of  the  column,  see 
pp.  178,  191. 

*  Vobis  autem  tanta  inopia  reorum  est,  ut  mihi  causam  prae- 
ripere  conemini  potius  quam  aliquos  ad  columnam  Maeniam  vestri 
ordinis  reos  reperiatis  ?     Cic.  in  Caecil.  div.  16. 

Reos  vestra  defensione  condignos,  ut  fures  et  servos  nequam,  qui 
apud  triumviros  capitales  apud  columnam  Maeniam  puniri  solent. 
Pseudo-Asconius  ad  Cic.  ib. 


CHAP. 
IV. 


Tribunal 
of  the 
Triumviri 
Capitales. 


Statues  of 
Pytha- 
goras  and 
Alci- 
biades. 


\ 


J 


174 


CHAP. 
IV. 


Porsenna. 


Flermo- 
dorus. 


Basilica 
Porcia. 


THE  HOMAX  FORUM. 

to  dedicate  in  some  frequented  site  a  statue  to 
the   wisest,   and  another  to  the  bravest,    of  the 
Greek  race.    The  philosopher  and  warrior  chosen 
were  Pythagoras  and  Alcibiades;  and  the  statues 
were   placed,  to   use  Pliny's   expression,  on  the 
horns  of  the  Comitium,  that  is  apparently  at  its 
two    corners  or   extremities.     These  statues  re- 
tained their  position  until  the  rebuilding  of  the 
Curia  by   Sulla.^^^     Their  disappearance  on  that 
occasion  leads  to  the  supposition  that  the  "horns  " 
of  the  Comitium,  or  one  of  them,  were  in  imme- 
diate proximity  to  the  Curia. 

Plutarch  mentions  a  bronze  statue  of  Porsenna 
of  rude  and  archaic  workmanship,  which  used  to 
stand  at  the  side  of  the  Curia.^ 

Another  ancient  statue  of  the  Comitium  was 
that  of  Hermodorus  the  Ephesian,  who  assisted  the 
decemvirs  in  drawing  up  the  laws  of  the  Twelve 
Tables.  Tliis  was  lost  before  the  time  of  Pliny.^ 
Under  the  Curia  at  the  side  of  the  Forum  was 
the  Basilica  Porcia,^  and  at  a  short  distance  in 

-  Invenioet  Pythagorae  et  Alcibiadi  (statuas)  in  cornibus  Comitil 
pos.tas,  cum  bello  Saniniti  Apollo  Pythius  fortissimo  Graiae  .^entis 
lussisset,  et  alteri  sapientissimo,  simulacra  celebri  loco  dicari''  Ei 
s^etere  donee  Sulla  dictator  ibi  Curiam  faceret.   Plin.  N.  II.  xxxiv  12 

^  VAarhKU  n  xa\Kov,  dv^^na,  avroo  rrapd  to  (iov\evri,p.ov,  aTrXov,  kcu 
apxciiKog  Ty  tpycKriif.     Plutarch.  Popl.  19. 

^  Fuit  et  Hermodori  Ephesii  (statua)  in  Comitio,  legum  quas 
decemv.n  scnbebant  interpretis,  publice  dicata.  Alia  causa,  alia 
auctontas  M.  Iloratii  Coclitis  statuae,  quae  durat  hodieque,  quum 
hostes  a  ponte  Sublicio  solus  arcuisset.     Plin.  N.  II.  xxxiv   11 

«  Phitarch,  Cat.  mai.  19;  Asconius,  arirum.  ad  Cic.  pro  Mil 


) 


1 


OBSERVATIONS  OF  THE  SUN. 

front  of  the  Curia  stood  the  Temple  of  Janus, 
the  closing  or  opening  of  which  was  the  index  of 
peace  or  war.  This  monument  was  placed  at  the 
lower  end  of  the  Argiletum,  a  street  which  led 
from  the  Forum  to  the  Suburra.  It  was  actually 
in  the  Forum  Romanum,^*^^  but  was  also  united,  as 
we  learn  from  Ovid,  witli  another  Forum.^*^  The 
latter  was  in  all  probability  the  Forum  of  Caesar, 
the  proximity  of  which  to  the  group  of  monuments 
with  which  we  are  now  occupied  has  been  al- 
ready observed.  Having  indicated  the  position 
of  these  objects  in  relation  to  the  Curia,  it  is  con- 
venient to  defer  what  remains  to  be  said  about 
them,  in  order  to  complete  our  observations 
respecting  the  Curia  itself  and  the  other  monu- 
ments situated  uj)on  the  Comitium.^ 

Before  attempting  to  determine  the  absolute 
locality  of  these  monuments,  the  attention  of  the 
reader  should  be  called  to  a  passage  of  Pliny,  which 
enables  us  to  fix  with  considerable  minuteness 
the  relative  situation  of  some  of  them  with  respect 
to  one  another.  We  learn  from  that  author  that 
tlie  legal  mid-day  was  for  some  time  ascertained 
by  observing  the  time  when  the  sun  was  to  be  seen 
from  the  Curia  between  the  Rostra  and  the  Grae- 


175 


CHAP. 
IV. 


Janus. 

Argile- 
tum. 


Forum  of 
Caesar. 


Time 

ascertained 
by  observa- 
tions on  the 
Comitium. 


489 


90 


'KXft  ct  Tuv  vfMV  tv  Ty  dyop^  rrpu  too  f5ov\evTi)piov.    Procop.  Bell. 
Goth.  i.  25.     Liv.  i.  19.     (Note  611.) 

Cum  tot  sint  iani,  cur  stas  sacratus  in  uno, 
Hie  ubi  terapla  foris  iuncta  duobus  habes  ? 

Ovid  Fast.  i.  257. 
See  further,  Chapters  VI.  and  VII. 


)  • 


il 


176 


CHAP. 
IV. 


THE  ROMAN  FORUM. 

costasis,  and  that  the  suprema  iempestas,  which 

closed  the  hours  of  legal  business,  was  announced 

when    the    sun,  as   observed   from  the    column 

of    Maenius,   was    sinking   towards   the   Prison. 

The  latter  announcement  was  made,  according:  to 

Varro,  in  the  Comitium.     This  primitive  method 

of  ascertaining   the  mid-daj  and  evening   hour, 

which  could  only  be  used  in  clear  weather,  was 

practised   before   the  first  Punic    war.'''     It  was 

afterwards  superseded  by  the  sun-dial,  and  still 

«2  Duodecim  tabulis  ortus  tantum  et  occasus  nominantur;  post 
aliquot  annos  adiectus  est  et  meridies,  accenso  consulum  id  pronun- 
ciante  quum  a  Curia  inter  Rostra  et  Graecostasin  prospexisset  solera. 
A  columna  Maenia  ad  carcerem  inclinato  sidere,  supremam  pronun- 
ciabat,  sed  hoc  serenis  tantum  diebus,  usque  ad  primum  Punicuin 
bellum.     Plin.  N.  H.  vii.  60. 

In  duodecim  tabulis  verbum  hoc,  sol  occasus,  ita  scriptum  est : 

ANTE  .  MERIDIEM  .  CAVSAM  .  CONICIVNTO  .  QVOM  .  PERORANT  .  AMBO  • 
PRAESENTES  .  POST  .  MERIDIEM  .  PRAESENTI  .  LITEM  .  ADDICITO  .  SOL 
OCCASVS  .  SVPREMA  .  TEMPESTAS  .  ESTO.       A.  Gcll.  Xvii.  2. 

Quia  est  in  xii  Tabulis  scriptum  sic :  solis  .  occasvs  .  svprema  . 
TEMPESTAS  .  ESTO.  Scd  postca  M.  PlactoHus  tribunus  plebis  scitum 
tulit,  in  quo   scriptum  est :   praetor  .  vrbanvs  .  qvi  .  nvnc  .  est. 

QVIQVE    .    post  .  HAC  .  FVAT    .  DVOS  .  LICTORES  .  APVD      SE  .  HABETO  . 
VSQVE  .  AD     SVPREMAM  .   [ad    .    SOLEM    .    OCCASUM]    IVS[qve]    INTER  . 

civis  .  DiciTO.     Censorinus,  de  die  nat.  c.  24.  ed.  Hultsch,  Lips.  1867. 

Suprema  summum  diei,  id  a  superrimo.  Hoc  tempus  xii.  tabulae 
dicunt  occasum  esse  solis ;  sed  postea  lex  praetoria  [qu.  Plaetoria]  id 
quoque  tempus  iubet  esse  supremum,  quo  praeco  in  Comitio  supre- 
mam pronuntiavit  populo.     Varro,  L.  L.  vi.  2  (52). 

Accensum  solitum  ciere,  Boeotia  ostendit,  quam  comoediam  Attii 
esse  dicunt,  hoc  versu  : 

Ubi  primum  accensus  clamarat  meridiem. 
Hoc  idem    Cosconius  in  actionibus  scribit,  praetorem  accensum 
solitum  tum  esse  iubere,  ubi  ei  videbatur  horam  esse  tertiam,  incla- 
mare   horam   tertiam   esse,    itemquo    meridiem,    ot    horam    nonam. 
Varro,  L.  L  vi.  9  (75). 


ORIENTATION  OF  THE  CURIA. 


177 


I 


later  by  the  more  accurate  division  of  time  ob-  chap. 
tained  by  the  water-clock.^^^  The  topographical  — 
significance  of  the  practice  descri])ed  by  Pliny  has 
relation  therefore  to  an  early  disposition  of  the 
monuments  of  the  Comitium  ;  but  there  is  no 
reason  to  suppose  that  any  change  took  place  in 
the  position  of  the  Curia,  Graecostasis,  Rostra, 
Colunma  Maenia,  or  Career,  between  the  first 
Punic  war  and  the  last  years  of  tlie  Republic. 

It  is  obvious  that,  if  two  objects  are  used  to  ohserva- 
indicate   a    meridian    line  from    a    given    point,  mlHly 
their  extremities    nmst   be    nearly    in    the    same  %Z^'" 
direction  from  that  point,  so  that  a  vertical  line 
may  l)e  drawn  from  tliese  extremities,  or  from   a 
narrow  space  between  them,  to  the  sun.      The 
observation   in   question    may    Iiave   been    made 
either  in  this  manner,  or  more  easily  by  Avatching 
the  moment  wlien  the  shadows  of  the  two  monu- 
ments fell  on  the  two  sides  of  a  line  marked  upon 
the  pavement  for  tlie  purpose. 

The  Rostra  were,  as  we  have  seen,  before  tlie  Rostra. 
Curia,  and  close  to  it.'"'     Tlie  observation  nmst 
therefore  have  been  taken  from  the  front  of  the 
Curia.     The  Graecostasis  was  on  its  right,  and  Graico- 
was  therefore  the  more  western  object ;  and  its  '^'^' 
terrace  must  have  projected  somewhat  before  the 
fa(;ade  of  the  Curia,  as  it  would  not  otherwise 
have  been  seen  from  the  front  of  it. 

The   two    facts,  that   the   observation    of  the  Orienta- 
tion of  the 
«»^  See  pp.  150,  199.  Curia. 

N 


178 


CHAP. 
IV. 


()!)scrva- 
tioTi  of 
evening. 


Maenian 
column 
in  the 
Comitium, 


THE  ROMAN  FORUM. 

meridian  was  taken  from  the  front  of  the  Curia, 
and  tliat  tlie  sun  at  mid-day  was  above  the  edge 
of  an  object  to  the  right  of  the  building,  prove 
further,  that  the  facade  of  the  Curia  was  opposite 
to  a  point  east  of  soutli.  We  may  conclude  there- 
fore that  the  front  of  the  Curia  looked  down  the 
Forum,  and  not  across  it,  in  the  direction  of  Vesta 
and  not  of  Saturn.  This  orientation  of  the  Curia 
agrees  well  with  the  fact  that  the  temple  of  Janus, 
which  was  clearly  at  the  side  and  not  in  the  middle 
space  of  the  Forum,  was  in  front  of  the  Curia. 

The  last  moment  of  the  legal  day  was  ascer- 
tained by  an  observation  made  at  the  Maenian 
column.  Varro  states  that  the  siipi^ema  was  pro- 
claimed in  the  Comitium.  We  may  infer  with 
some  probability  that  the  column  was  also  in  that 
area.  We  may  also  conclude  that  this  monument 
stood  towards  the  east  of  the  Prison,  from  which 
it  cannot  have  been  far  distant,  since  from  any 
distant  point  to  the  east  that  building  would  be  seen 
iiir  below  the  horizon  of  the  Capitoline  Hill.  It 
would  not  therefore  have  ])een  chosen  as  an  index 
for  such  an  observation  from  the  Mid  Forum. 
It  may  be  remarked,  however,  that  in  winter  it 
would  be  impossible  from  the  neighbourhood  of 
the  prison  to  observe  the  sunset,  or  any  position 
of  the  sun  towards  the  west,  since  it  would  be 
hidden  long  before  sundown  by  the  Capitoline  Hill. 
The  observation  must  therefore  have  been  con- 
fined to  the  long  days  as  well  as  to  clear  weather. 


i 


i 


I 


I 


SUPREMA  TEMPESTAS. 


179 


A  more  accurate  conclusion  might  perhaps  be     chap. 
drawn  as  to  tlie  relative  position  of  the  column       — 
and  Prison,  if  we  knew  what  length  of  time  after  L'nronhe 
mid-day  was    intended    to  be  allowed   for   le2:al  •''"^''''''^' 
l)roceedings.     Roman  hours  were  generally  early. 
The  emperor  Severus,  who  was  verv  diliirent  in 
this  part  of  his  duties,  sat  at  the  tribunal  until 
mid-day.'^'     According  to  Martial, 

In  quintam  varios  extendit  Roma  labores 
Sexta  quies  lassis,  septima  finis  erit.s 

The  less  occupied  would  conclude  their  affairs 
at  one  o'clock;  but  this  was  not  the  end  of  the 
legal  day.  There  were  proceedings  which  were 
expressly  to  take  place  in  the  afternoon,  and  the 
supremo,  as  fixed  by  this  rude  observation,  was  a 
substitute  for  sunset.  It  appears  from  an  author 
cited  by  Varro  that  the  Praetor,  when  he  deter- 
mined that  it  was  the  third  hour,  ordered  his 
accensiis  to  declare  it  so,  and  that  he  did  the 
same  at  midday  and  at  the  ninth  hour.^  We 
cannot  conclude,  however,  that  the  ninth  hour 
was  the  siiprema.  We  read  of  careless  judlces 
Avho  did  not  make  their  appearance  in  the  Co- 
mitium until  the  tenth  hour;"  and  Augustus  is 
said  to  have  i)resided  at  the  tribunal  till  nightfall, 
sometimes,  when  unwell,  lying  on  a  sofa.*"     The 

♦"*  '¥.KQivt  Si  n'tX9^  Atf'^';A'/^(>t«(.>  Ktti  fierd  tov9'  'iinrtvev.  Dio  Cass. 
Ixxvi.  17. 

*  Martial.  Ep.  iv.  8.  3.  «  Varro,  L.  L.  vi.  9.     (Note  492.) 

"  Macrob.  Saturn,  ii.  12.  (Note  391.) 

"  lus  dixit  assiduc,  et  in  noctem  nonnunquam  ;  si  paruni  corpore 
valeret,  Icctica  pro  tri]>unali  locata.     Sueton.  Aug.  33. 

n2 


180 


CHAP. 

IV. 


Probable 
site  of  the 
Miienian 
column. 


THE  ROMAN  FOllUM. 

suprema  determined  by  the  observation  in  ques- 
tion on  a  summer  afternoon  Avas  i)rol)ably  not 
intended  to  allow  less  than  six  hours  after  mid- 
day. If,  however,  the  day  was  ended  throughout 
the  year  when  the  sun  appeared  vertically  above 
a  given  point,  the  afternoons  would  be  very 
unequal,  and  shorter  by  more  than  an  hour  at 
midsummer  than  at  the  equinoxes.  This  may 
have  been  roughly  remedied  by  observing  when 
--....-^  ^Ijg  g^jj  reached  an  oblique 

line,  such  as  might  be  given 
by  the  roof  of  a  building  or 
by  a  wall  seen  in  perspective, 
and  extended,  if  necessary, 
by  the  eye  or  with  the  assist- 
ance of  a  rod.  In  this  way,  supposing  the  column 
to  have  stood  to  the  east  of  the  south  corner  of 
the  Prison,  a  tolerably  uniform  observation  may 
have  been  made  about  six  o'clock  from  April  to 
September.^^^ 

We  may  now  endeavour  to  see  how  far  our 
information  enables  us  to  fix  the  absolute  locality 
of  the  Curia  and  other  monuments,  the  relative 
position  of  which  in  respect  of  each  other  we  have 
so  far  been  able  to  describe.^^^ 


1- .  * 

-^j.^  ______ 

^^^fe 

i^Si^f'TTS^^IB 

HmO 

pF ' '^^B 

^bI 

I^.jlJ|P 

4uy 


The  topographical  problems  presented  by  these  observations  of 
the  course  of  the  sun  have  been  discussed  by  Canina,  Foro  Romano, 
pp.  3o8,  362 ;  Becker,  Ilandbueh,  i.  284,  322. 

^'^  The  plan  on  the  opposite  page  is  suggested  as  an  arrangement 
of  the  Curia  and  objects  near  it,  consistent  with  the  descriptions 
of  ancient  writers  and  the  existing  remains.  The  best  proof  to  the 
author's  mind  of  its  probability  is,  that  he  has  been  unable  to  arrange 


il   - 


I 
I 


LOCALITY  OF  CURIA,  ETC. 


181 


PLAN  OF  THE  NORTH  CORNER  OF  THE  FORUM,  B.C.  150. 

We  may  first  observe,  tliat  the  vicinity  of  the     chap. 

IV 

Argiletum  and  tlie  Forum  of  Caesar  leads  us  at       — 

,        ,  1  ,1  .  -.  «       ,  Curia  on 

once   to   the   north-eastern    side    of   the    Forum  thenorth- 
Eomanum.    The  Argiletum  led  to  the  Su])urra,^^^  thfi^rum^ 
and,  although  tlie  precise  locality  and  extent  of  the 
Julian  Forum  are  not  known,  it  is  not  doubted 
that  it  formed  i)art  of  the  group  of  imperial  Fora 
on  this  side  of  the  Roman  Forum. 

It  is  remarkable  that,  of  all  the  other  objects  Temple  of 
which  have  been   mentioned  in  connection  with 
the  Curia,  there  is  only  one  which  can  be  confi- 
dently identified  with  any  existing  remains.     The 
Comitium,  the  Rostra,  the  Graecostasis,  the  Sena- 

the  objects  differently  consistently  with  the  data.     The  Senaculum 
is  represented  as  a  distinct  monument;  see  before,  p.  168. 
■•"•  Mart.  p:p.  ii.  17.  (Note  673.) 


182 


THE  ROMAN  FORUM. 


CITAP- 
IV. 


I 


Gallery 
situl  en- 
trances of 
the  Tiibu- 
lariuni. 


Doorway 
of  the  Ta- 
bnlarinm 
behind 
Concord. 


culiim,  and  the  Janus,  as  well  as  the  Curia  itself 
and  the  Fonim  of  Caesar,  have  all  disappeared 
without  leaving  any  certain  traces  behind  them. 
The  one  monument  which  still  exists  in  ruin  is  the 
Temple  of  Concord.  The  remains  of  this  temple 
under  the  base  of  the  Capitoline  Hill  have  been 
already  described.  It  has  also  been  shown  that 
the  latest  temple  occupied  the  site  on  which  the 
temple  built  hy  Opimius  and  the  Basilica  Opimia 
had  previously  stood.  The  temple  of  Opimius 
again  had  replaced  that  of  Camillus,  and  pro- 
bably superseded  the  small  bronze  temple  of  Fla- 
vins, the  associations  connected  with  which  were 
not  agreeal)le  to  the  dominant  party.^*^^ 

It  should  be  observed  that  when  the  gallery  of 
the  Tal)ularium  was  erected,  probably  by  Catulus, 
B.C.  78,  during  the  existence  of  the  basilica  and 
temple  of  Opimius,  there  were  no  buildings  abut- 
ting on  the  Tabularium  of  the  height  of  the 
more  recent  temples  of  Concord  and  Vespasian, 
by  which  this  gallery  was  afterwards  in  a  great 
measure  closed  or  o])scured.  Beside  the  doorway 
of  the  Tabularium  already  mentioned,  which  was 
closed  by  the  Temple  of  Vespasian,^  there  are 
traces  of  another  entrance  into  this  building  from 
the  Forum  behind  the  podium  of  the  Temple  of 
Concord.  The  passage  leading  to  this  door  appears 
to  have  been  originally  carried  under  the  base  of 

""  See  before,  pp.  11— IG,  and  pp.  165-169. 
■^  See  p.  27. 


1 


i 


ARCH  OF  SEVERUS. 

some  earlier  structure,  but  to  have  been  closed 
upon  the  rebuilding  of  the  temple  by  Tiberius.^'^^ 

Proceedini!:  downwards  from  the  site  of  the 
Temple  of  Concord,  the  first  monuments  which 
our  authorities  have  taught  us  to  seek  are  the 
Comitiuin  and  the  Graecostasis  raised  upon  it."* 
Now  the  principal  object  wliich  at  present  occu- 
pies the  area  below  this  site  is  the  Arch  of  Severus. 
I  have  little  hesitation  in  concludino;  that  this 
structure,  which  belongs  to  a  period  when  the 
associations  connected  with  the  ancient  Roman 
constitution  had  lost  their  general  influence,  and 
were  disregarded  by  the  reigning  prince,^  was 
placed  in  the  midst  of  the  Comitium,  the  original 
character  of  which  was  thereby  destroyed.  The 
ancient  Graecostasis  had  probably  occupied  a  part 
of  the  site  so  invaded  ;  but  whether  it  had  sur- 
vived on  its  old  site  until  the  erection  of  the  arch 
we  have  no  direct  evidence  to  show. 

A  monument  called  Graecostadium  was  re- 
stored after  fire  by  Antoninus  Pius  ;  a  Graeco- 
stadium was  also  rebuilt  by  Diocletian,  and  is 
named  in  the  Curiosum.    A  fragment  of  the  Capi- 

**'  The  passage  "  has  old  walls  faced  with  opus  reticulatum  of  the 
time  of  the  Republic.  It  is  stopped  abruptly  at  the  further  end  by 
a  wall  of  the  time  of  Augustus."  Parker,  Forum  Ronianum,  Descrip- 
tion of  IMate  III. 

*  Sub  dextra  huius  (Curiae)  a  Comitio  locus  substructus  .  .  . 
Graecostasis  appellatus  .  .  .  Senaculum  supra  Graecostasin,  nbi  aedis 
Concordiae  et  Basilica  Opimia.     Varro,  L.  L.  v.  32.  (Note  402.) 

'"  Gibbon,  Roman  Empire,  chap.  v.  at  the  end. 


183 


CHAP. 

IV. 

The  Grae- 
costasis. 


Arch  of 
Severus 
placed  in 
the  Co- 
mitium. 


Site  of  the 
Graeco- 
stasis. 


The  Grae- 
costadium. 


Capitoline 
Plan. 


184 


THE  ROMAN  FORUM. 


Older 

(iraecOKta 
sis  in  the 
l"lan. 


ciiAP.    toline  Plan  sliows  a  rectangular  structure  of  con- 
siderable  size,  having  the  appearance  of  a  terrace, 
with  steps  on  one  side,  and  columns  or  pedestals 
"pon   it,   and    hears   the    imperfect    inscription 
Asc  of  .he  REcosT.     This  ,,lan  appears  to  have  been  made  in 
tlie  reign    of  Severus,  after   the  association   of 
Caracalla  in  the  empire,  a.d.  198,  and  before  that 
of  Geta,  A.D.  211.-'«     The  arch  was  erected  a.d. 
203.     The  plan  may  therefore  be  either  earlier 
or  later  than  the  arcli.     But  if,  as  we  can  scarcely 
doubt,  the  building  shown  on  this  fragment   is 
the  Graecostadium,  it  is  probal)le  that  the  plan 
is  earlier,  and  that  the  terrace  here  represented, 
which  has  no  counterpart  in  the  existing  ruins,' 
was  destroyed  upon  tiie  erection  of  the  arch.    The 
notices  of  the   Graecostadium   of  a  later   time 
pomt  to  the  neighbourhood  of  the  Vicus  Juo-a- 
nus  and  the  Basilica  Julia,  between  wliich  objects 
Grreosta.  '^  ''  mentioned  in  the  Curiosum.     In  this  direc- 
■hum^a    t.on   no   other  place  can  be   found   for  such  a 
monument  than  that  now  occupied  by  the  terrace 
with  the  curved  face,  which  is  described  in  the 
first   Chapter,   and    which    has   been   commonly 
known  as  the  Rostra.'     The  form  of  this  ruin 
does   not   correspond  with   tlmt  figured   on  the 
Cap.tolme  Plan,  and  was  prol,ably  adopted  on  the 

«  See  plan,  p.  26.     The  only  evidence  of  the  date  of  the  plan  is 
an  .nscr,pt,„n  on  some  buildings  in  the  Palatine,  s.v.k.  bx      xo». 

•  See  p.  19. 


I 


li 


CHAP. 
IV. 


SITE  OF  TIIE  GRAECOSTADIUM. 

« 

removal  of  the  monument  from  its  former  site, 
to  suit  the  narrower  area   of  this   part   of  the 
Comitium.     The  view  of  the  Forum  given  by  the 
bas-relief  of  Constantine  exhibits  one  monumental 
terrace  only,  occupying  the  ground  between  the 
Arch   of  Tiberius   and   the  Arch  of  Severus/'' 
This  could  be  no  other  than  the  curved  ten^ace  ; 
there  is  not  room  for  another  on  the  ground ;  and 
no  such  monument  as  that  now  in  ruins  is  likely 
to  have  been  added  to  the  Forum  after  the  age 
of  Constantine.    We  can  scarcely  avoid  the  con- 
clusion, that  in  this  terrace  we  have  the  Graeco- 
stadium of  the  later  empire.    It  may  be  observed, 
that  the  suj)position  that  this  was  also  the  site  of 
the  Republican  Graecostasis  is  excluded  beyond 
question  by  the   evidence   of  Pliny,   since  it  is 
impossible  to  place  the  Curia  to  the  north  of  the 
curved  terrace.^    It  is  pro])a])le  that,  in  earlier 
times,  this  end  of  the  Comitium  had  been  the  site 
of  the  Praetor's  tribunal.^     The  Graecostadium, 
so  far  as  the  existing  remains  enable  us  to  judge' 
was   an    open    terrace,    without   any   permane^nt 
covermg.     This  agrees  with  what  we  read  of  the 
earlier  Graecostasis.^*^ 

With  respect  to  the  position  of  the  Curia,  it  Site  of 
has   been    shown   to    have   had   a  south-easterly  '''''""• 
aspect,  and  was  therefore  situated  to  the  north- 
Avest  of  the  Janus,  which  stood  in  front    of  it; 


185 


•"'■  See  p.  21. 

'  See  pp.  175,  177. 


"  See  p.  192. 
"•  Seep.  IGl. 


I, 


186 


THE  ROMAN  FORUM. 


SITE  OF  THE  ClIALCIDICUM. 


187 


CHAP. 
IV. 


Site  of 
the  Chal- 
cidicum, 
or  Atrium 
MiDcrvae. 


and  as  the  Janus  was  itself  on  the  north-eastern 
edge  of   the  Forum   Romanum,    looking  in  one 
direction  into  the  Forum  of  Caesar,  we  may  con- 
clude that  the  Curia  was  also  anions;  the  buildings 
l)ounding  the  Forum  (in  its  larger  sense,  including 
the  Comitium),  on  the  same  north-eastern  side. 
It  appears  to  have  adjoined,  or   nearly    so,  the 
Graecostasis,'"  and  we  know  from  the  argument 
of  the  meridian  that  it  lay   to  the  north  of  that 
monument.^    Assuming  that  the  Graecostasis  was 
on  the  site  of  the  Arch  of  Severus,  the  Curia  must 
be  placed,  wholly  or  in  part,  upon  the  site  of  the 
Church  of  Santa  Martina. 

The  Chalcidicum  of  Augustus,  which,  as  we 
have  seen,  was  probably  identical  with  the  Atrium 
Minervae  of  later  authors,  adjoined  the  Curia 
Julia.^  It  could  not  have  been  on  its  right  or 
south-western  side,  as  that  position  was  otherwise 
occupied  ;  and,  if  we  are  correct  in  the  position  of 
the  Curia,  there  was  no  room  foi^  it  at  the  back. 
It  may  have  been  built,  wholly  or  in  part,  on  the 
site  of  the  Basilica  Porcia,  that  is,  in  front  of  the 
Curia  to  the  left.  This  basilica  nearly  adjoined 
the  Curia  Hostilia,  and  was  burnt  with  it,  and  we 
read  nothing  of  its  subsequent  restoration.^  It 
is  probable  that  the  Chalcidicum  lay  in  part 
against  the  north-east  wall  of  the  Curia  Julia, 
where  its  site  is  now  marked  hy  the  apse  of  the 

*'»  Varro,  L.  L.  v.  32.  (Note  402.)     See  before,  p.  161. 

^  See  p.  177.  »  See  p.  159.  *  See  Chapter  VI. 


church  of  Santa  Martina,  in  which  an  inscription     chap. 
was  found  recording  the  restoration  of  a  sea^e-       — '- 
tarium  senatus  in  the  year  a.d.  407.'''  This  build-  fium  Sena- 
ing,  the  foundation  of  which  is  attributed  by  the  ^'''' 
inscription  to  Flavianus,  Praefectus  Urbi,  a.d.  309, 
can    scarcely   have   been   the  principal   place  of 
asseml)ly  of  the   Senate,  which,  as  we  have  seen, 
was  popularly  called  Senatus,  and  in  the  contro- 
versy  between    Aml)rose   and    Symmachus,    not 
long  before  the    restoration  of  this   Secretarium, 
had  still  its  old  title  of  Curia.'      The  Secretarium 
was  more  probably  an  adjunct  to  the  Curia,  which 
had  taken  the  place  of  the  Atrium  Minervae,  the 
name  of  which  would  naturally  be  dropped  under 
Christian  influence.     The  Senatus  itself,  and  the 
Atrium    Minervae,   had    been   both    burnt   down 
towards  the  end  of  the  third  century.^ 

With  regard  to  the  site  of  the  Comitium,  the  site  of  the 
fact  that  it  was  the  place  of  meeting  of  a  privi- 
leged class  of  citizens  makes  it  probable  that  it 
was  at  one  end,  or  at  the  side,  and  not  in  the 
middle,  of  the  Forum.  The  same  kind  of  position 
is  also  indicated  by  its  use  as  a  place  for  spec- 

"*    SALVIS  .  DOMINIS  .  NOSTRIS  .  HONORIO  .  ET  .  THEODOSIO  .  VICTORI- 
OSJSSIMIS  .  PRINCIPinVS  .  SECRETARIVM  .  AMpLlSSIMI  .  SENATVS  .  QVOD. 
VIR  .  InLvSTRIS  .    fLavIA>VS    .    INSTITVERAT   .  ET  .  FATaLis  .  IGNIS    . 
ABSVMPSIT    .    fLaVIVS     .     ANMVS   .    EVCHARIVS    .      EPIPHANIVS     .     VC 
PRAeF  .  VRB  .  VICE  .  SACRA  .  IVD  .  REPARAVIT  .  ET  .  AD  .  PRISTINAM  . 

FAciEM  .  REDvxiT.      (In  hemicjclo   templi    S.  Martinae.)    Gruter, 
Inscr.  170.  5. 

^  Ambros.  Ei)ist.  in  Symmach.  (Note  433.)  •   Note  448. 


Comitium. 


( 


188 


CHAP. 
IV. 


Limits  and 
level  of  the 
Comitium. 


THE  KOMAN  TORUM. 

tators  at  the  public  games.'^'  It  lay,  as  we  have 
seen,  partly  before  the  Curia'  and  partly  to  the 
right  of  that  building,  as  one  looked  from  the 
front  of  it.'  It  was  in  sight  of  the  Temple  of 
Concord,^  and  close  below  it.^'^  With  these  marks 
we  can  have  no  difficulty  in  concluding  that 
the  Comitium  constituted  the  upper  or  north- 
western end  of  the  Forum,  commencing  where 
the  ground  naturally  began  to  rise,  occupying 
the  principal  part  of  the  space  between  the 
Temple  of  Saturn  on  the  one  side  and  the  Curia 
on  the  other,  and  also  extending  in  a  narrow 
terrace  before  the  Curia,  wliere  it  supported  the 
republican  Rostra.  The  evidence  which  places 
the  Comitium  in  the  locality  which  has  been 
indicated,  though  slight,  is  still  so  significant  that 
the  reader  may  wonder  that  its  bearing  has  not 
been  previously  pointed  out.  This  has  arisen 
partly  from  the  position  and  orientation  of  the 
Curia  not  having  been  distinctly  conceived,  and 
still  more  from  the  intrusion  of  the  Arch  of 
Severus,  which  has  obscured  the  topography  of 
this  part  of  the  Forum. 

The  great  temples  at  the  foot  of  the  Capitol 
are  never  described  as  situated  in  the  Comitium. 
We  may  infer  that  the  road  which  ran  in  front 
of  their  steps  formed  its  western  boundary.     The 

*'«  See  p.  144.  '  See  pp.  150,  151. 

8  Varro,  L.  L.  v.  32.  (Note  402.) 

^  Plutarch,  Cam.  (Note  32.) 

■-»  Varro,  L.  L.  v.  32.  (Note  402.) 


CHAP. 
IV. 


SITE  OF  THE  COMITIUM.  189 

space  thus  included  was  on  a  natural  slope,  the 
road  last  mentioned  being  higher  by  about  eight 
feet  than  the  Mid  Forum.  Bv  what  terraces  and 
steps  this  slope  was  broken,  in  the  ancient  arrange- 
ment of  the  ground  before  the  introduction  of  the 
Arch  of  Severus,  it  is  useless  to  conjecture.     The  Dura- 

.   ,  .       .  tion  of  the 

limits  of  the  Comitium,  m  its  central  part,  were  Comitium. 
obliterated  at  the  time  of  the  erection  of  this 
arch.  Its  special  uses  and  associations  had 
already  become  obsolete.  Possibly  in  more  re- 
cent alterations  all  traces  of  its  distinction  from 
the  rest  of  the  Forum  may  have  disappeared, 
unless  the  ancient  wall,  fragments  of  which  are 
to  be  seen  under  the  modern  road  between  the 
Arch  of  Severus  and  the  Column  of  Phocas, 
may  mark  a  part  of  its  boundary. 

It  is  probable  that,  before  the  erection  of  the  Way 
Arch  of  Severus  and  the  formation  of  the  ways  Comitium. 
under  it,  there  had  been  for  centuries  a  well-worn 
footway  past  the  side  of  the  Curia  and  Graecosta- 
sis,  and  across  the  Comitium.  This  would  be  the 
ordinary  route  from  the  Forum  to  the  short  and 
steep  ascent  of  the  Capitol  called  the  Scalae  Ge-  Position  of 

\  ^  .  the  Scalae 

moniae,^^^  and  probal)ly  also  to  the  street  which  Gemoniae. 
followed  the  direction  of  the  present  Via  Marforio 
towards  the  Campus  Martins.    We  have  some  in- 
dication of  this  ancient  route  in  Livy's  story  about 
the  proposed  evacuation  of  the  city  after  its  con- 

"'  These  steps  began  to  rise  between  the  Career  and  the  Portico  of 
Concord,  nearly  where  the  modern  steps  begin,  but,  as  they  were  at  a 


190 


THE  ROMAN  FORUM. 


CHAP. 
IV. 


Ciirriajje- 
way  niidcr 
the  Arch 
of  Sevcrus. 


quest  by  the  Gauls.  The  Senate  is  represented 
as  holding  counsel  in  the  Curia  Hostilia,  when  a 
l)ody  of  soldiers,  returning  from  guard  duty, 
crosses  tlie  Forum  and  passes  into  the  Comitium. 
Jn  the  Comitium  the  centurion  gives  the  com- 
mand to  halt,  in  words,  which,  overheard  by  the 
senators,  determine  tlie  fate  of  Rome:  "Ensign, 
fix  the  standard ;  here  we  had  best  remain " ! 
The  senators  immediately  issvie  from  the  Curia, 
declare  that  they  accept  the  omen,  and  their  de- 
cision is  confirmed  by  the  people.^^^ 

The  previously  frequented  route  across  the 
Comitium  was  probably  converted  into  a  carriage- 
way at  the  time  of  the  erection  of  the  Arch  of 
Severus.  Some  antiquaries,  indeed,  have  been  of 
opinion  that  there  was  no  carriage-way  originally 
under  the  arch,  and  I  do  not  know  whether  the 
investigation  on  the  spot  which  might  decide  the 
point  has  been  made.^  But  the  form  of  the  build- 
ino",  with  its  wide  central  arch  and  narrower 
arches  on  either  side,  seems  to  imply  a  carriage- 
way as  well  as  footways  beneath  it. 

lower  level  at  the  bottom,  they  must  have  been  considerably  steeper. 
They  led  out  of  the  Forum,  and  the  spot  where  the  condemned  were 
thrown  was  in  full  view  from  its  area.  (Calpio)  in  publicis  vinculis 
spiritum  deposuit,  corpusque  eius,  funesti  carnificis  manibus  lacera- 
tum,  in  sealis  Gemoniis  iacens  magno  cum  horrore  totius  fori  Romani 
conspectum  est.    Valer.  Max.vi.  9,  13.    Dio.  Cass.  Iviii.  5.  (Note  8.) 

522  Quum  Senatus  ...  in  curia  Hostilia  haberetur,  cohortesque  ex 
praesidiis  revertentes  forte  agmine  forum  transirent,  centurio  in 
Comitio  exclamavit :  Signifer,  statue  signum,  hie  manebimus  optime. 
Qua  voce  audita  et  senatus  accipere  se  omen  ex  Curia  egressus  con- 
clamavit,  et  plebs  circumfusa  appiobavit.     Liv.  v.  55. 

'  But  see  Burn,  Rome  and  the  Campagna,  p.  121. 


SITE  OF  THE  VULCANAL. 


191 


The  Columna  Maenia  was  probably  placed  near  chap. 
the  south-western  wall  of  the  Curia,  with  little  — '- 
but  the  roadwav  between  it  and  the  Pj-ison.  This  M^acuia. 
proximity  must  have  l)een  convenient  for  the 
criminal  tri1)unal  of  tlie  Triumviri  Capitales, 
wliich  sat  at  the  Maenian  Column.  From  this 
locality,  and  from  no  other,  could  the  observation 
of  the  afternoon  position  of  the  sun  with  reference 
to  the  Prison  be  made.  And  this  site  ag-rees 
perfectly  witli  the  indication  afforded  by  Cicero, 
since  a  person  entering  the  Comitium  by  the 
ancient  street  leading  from  the  Campus  Martins, 
now  represented  by  the  Via  Marforio,  would  first 
come  in  view  of  the  crowd  of  spectators  collected 
on  the  Capitoline  slope  and  in  the  Mid-Forum 
when  he  arrived  at  this  point.^^'* 

Of  all  the  sites  in  the  immediate  neighbour-  site  of  the 

,  .  .  ^  Vulcaiial. 

hood  of  the  Curia,  tliere  is  none  more  difficult  to 
place  than  the  Vulcanal  or  Area  Vulcani.  We 
have  already  seen  that  in  Dionysius  the  Hephaes- 
teum  is  not  distins-uishable  from  the  Comitium. 
But  the  Vulcanal  of  other  authors  is  clearly  a 
distinct  locality.  Being  on  a  higher  level  than 
the  Comitium,  it  doubtless  lay  on  the  rising 
ground  in  the  direction  of  the  Capitoline  Hill. 
Judging  by  the  slight  indications  of  its  locality  in 
early  times,  we  might  be  inclined  to  place  it  on  the 
site  ultimately  occupied  by  the  great  Temple  of 


^"■^  See  before,  pp.  172,  178. 


192 


THE  ROMAN  FOIIUM. 


CHAP.  Concord/''  But  the  more  distinct  evidence  of  its 
—  later  position  leads  us  to  tbe  north-east  side  of 
the  Curia,  in  the  direction  of  the  Forum  Caesaris, 
into  which,  as  we  have  seen,  the  roots  of  its 
ancient  lotus-tree  extended.  And  there  is  no 
reason  to  suppose  that  its  site  was  ever  moved. 
The  speculations  of  Plutarch  as  to  the  origin  of 
the  Vulcanal  seem  to  associate  it  with  the  meet- 
ing-place of  the  Senate.^ 

Some  confusion  has  been  caused  among  topo- 
graphers by  an  Area  Vulcani  being  found  in  the 
printed  Notitia  in  the  list  of  remarka])le  objects 
in  the  fourth  Region.     This  is  clearlv  to  be  re- 
garded  as  an  error,  prol)a])lj  arising  from  the  in- 
correct state  of  the  manuscript.'     The  Vulcanal 
was  certainly  in  the  eighth  Region. 
Tribunal         There  is  no  direct  evidence  as  to  the  position 
Comitium.    of  the  practor's  tribunal  on  the  Comitium.     We 
have  seen  that  the    Triumviri   Capitales  sat    at 
the  Maenian  Column,  near  the  Prison,  to  hear 
criminal  causes.     The  principal  civil  tribunal  was 
probably  towards  the  southern  extremity  of  the 
Comitium,   where   there    would  be    more   ample 
space  for  the  numerous  jucUces,   witnesses,  and 


Site  of 
the  tri. 
Imual. 


524 


See  before,  pp.  165,  168. 
J  Plin.  N.  H.  xvi.  86.  (lYote  463.)     Plutarch.  Quaest.  Rom.  47 
(Aote  455.)     Festus,  ed.  Mull.  290.  (Note  458.) 

«  The  words  in  one  MS.  are  auro  uulcani  aurum  bucinum,  possibly 
a  twofold  entry   of  the   same  object,  whatever  it  may  have  been 
The    two   words   which   are   read   arcam    Vulcani   are   not   in  the 
turiosum.     See  Appendix. 


TRIBUNAL  OF  THE  COMITIUM. 


193 


advocates  who  attended  before  it.  The  parti- 
culars of  the  trial  of  Milo  furnish  some  sugges- 
tions as  to  its  situation.  That  trial  was  presided 
over  by  L.  Domitius,  a  Quaesitor  specially  chosen 
for  the  occasion,  and  the  court  consisted  of  fifty - 
one  judlces.  When  the  first  witness  against  the 
accused  was  cross-examined  bv  ^larcellus,  one 
of  the  advocates  of  Milo,  the  Clodian  faction 
among  the  bystanders  was  so  excited  against 
the  advocate,  that  he  was  forced  to  take  refuge 
with  the  presiding  judge  within  the  tribunal,  and 
Domitius  appealed  for  assistance  to  Pompey, 
who  was  consul,  and  sat  before  the  Aerarium,  or 
Temple  of  Saturn.  The  next  day  Pompey  occu- 
pied the  same  spot,  surrounded  by  soldiers  f"^  and 
Cicero  in  his  published  speech  represents  himself 
as  raisinij:  his  voice  to  address  himself  to  the 
consul.^  This  description  corresponds  with  no 
place  so  well  as  with  the  situation  of  the  curved 
terrace  near  the  Temple  of  Saturn,  which  is 
probably  of  later   date,  and  has  been  identified 


CHAP. 
IV. 


*2«  Primo  die  datus  erat  in  Milonem  testis  Cassinius  Schola  .  .  .  quern 
cum  interrogate  M.  Marcellus  coepisset,  tanto  tumultu  Clodianae 
multitudinis  circumstantis  exterritus  est,  ut  vim  ultimam  timens  in 
tribunal  a  Domitio  reciperetur  .  .  .  Sedebat  eo  tempore  Cn.  Pompeius 
ad  aerarium  .  .  .  Euntibus  ad  tabellam  ferendam  postero  die  iudi- 
cibus  .  .  .  clausae  fuerunt  tota  urbe  tabernae,  praesidia  in  foro  et 
circa  omnes  fori  aditus  Pompeius  disposuit.  Ipse  pro  aerario  ut 
pridie  consedit,  septus  delecta  manu  militum.  Asconius,  argum.  ad 
Cic.  pro  Mil. 

9  Tuas,  Cn.  Pompeie,  te  enim  iam  appello  ea  voce  ut  me  audire 
possis,  tuas  inquam  suspiciones  perhorrescimus.     Cic.  pro  Mil.  25. 

O 


194 


THE  ROMAN  FORUM. 


^"v  ^*     ^^^^^  ^^^^  Graccostadium/^"    The  open-air  tribunals 
—       appear  to  have  been  for  the  most  part  wooden 
tiorofThe  structures  consisting  of  a  raised  platform, — the 
tribunals.    pi-Qp^^j.  tribunal,  upon  which  were  placed  the  sella 
of  the  presiding  magistrate,  and  the  seats  of  the 
judlces^ — of  desks  for  the  scrihae^  and  of  distinct 
subselUa  for  the  adverse  parties  and  their  advo- 
cates and  witnesses.^    These  structures  were  easily 
torn  in  pieces  by  a  mob,  and  their  materials  were 


*^  See  pp.  20,  185.  A  bas-relief  on  the  arch  of  Constantine  repre- 
sents the  emperor  addressing  the  people  from  this  monument,  which 
may  possibly  have  been  sometimes  called  Tribunal  in  memory  of  the 
previous  use  of  the  site.  Ammianus  Marcellinus,  in  describing  the 
entry  of  Constantine  into  Rome,  says  that  he  addressed  the  nobility 
in  the  Curia,  and  the  people  from  the  Tribunal.  Proinde  Romam 
ingressus,  imperii  virtutumque  omnium  larem,  cum  venisset  ad  Rostra 
perspectissimumque  priscae  potentiae  forum  obstupuit;  perque  omne 
latus  quo  se  oculi  contulissent  miraculorum  densitate  praestrictus, 
adloquutus  nobilitatem  in  Curia,  populumque  e  tribunali,  in  Palatium 
receptus,  etc.     xVmmianus  Marcellinus,  xvi.  10. 

'  Quaero  ex  te,  Vatini,  .  .  .  num  quis  reus  in  tribunal  sui  quaesi- 
toris  adscenderit,  eumque  vi  deturbarit,  subsellia  dissiparit  .  .  . 
Sciasne  .  .  .  indices  quaestionum  de  proximis  tribunalibus  esse 
depulsos,  in  foro,  luce,  inspectante  populo  Romano?  Cic.  in  Vatin. 
14.     Plin.  Ep.  vi.  33.  (Note  107  ) 

Palam  de  sella  ac  tribunali  pronuntiat.  Cic.  Verr.  Actio  II.  ii.  38. 
Liv.  vi.  15.  (Note  393.) 

Tiberius  watched  the  proceedings  of  the  praetor  andjudices  from  a 
corner  of  the  tribunal.     Nee  Patrum  cognitionibus  satiatus  indiciis 
adsidebat  in  cornu  Iribunalis,  ne  praetorem  sella  curuli  depelleret 
Tac.  i.  75. 

'  Erant  ei  veteres  inimicitiae  cum  duobus  Rosciis  Amerinis,  quo- 
rum alterum  sedere  in  accusatorum  subselliis  video.  Cic.  pro  Rose. 
Am.  6. 

Volo  hoc  oratori  contingat,  ut  quum  auditum  sit  eum  esse  dictu- 
rum,  locus  in  subselliis  occupetur,  compleatur  tribunal,  gratiosi 
scribae  sint  in  dando  et  cedendo  loco.     Cic.  Brut.  84. 


TRIBUNALS  OF  THE  FORUM. 


195 


used  on  more  than  one  historical  occasion  for  pur- 
poses for  which  they  were  not  designed.^^^  But 
we  have  seen  that  the  Tribunal  Aurelium  was 
built  with  a  permanent  platform  and  steps,  which 
were  probably  of  stone  or  marble;  and  the  tribu- 
nal of  the  Comitium  may  have  been  similarly  con- 
structed/ 

The  subsellia  were  especially  the  advocates'  seats.  Hence  a  suh- 
selliia  esse  was  equivalent  to  being  an  advocate,  or,  as  we  say,  at 
the  bar  (Cic.  in  Caecil.  div.  15.)  ;  a  suhselliis  se  in  otimn  conferre,  to 
retire  from  the  bar.  (Cic.  de  Orat.  ii  38.)  But,  as  in  our  own 
courts,  room  was  probably  made  in  the  subsellia,  and  even  in  the  seats 
of  the  clerks  of  the  court,  for  respectable  visitors.    (Cic.  Brut.  /.  c.) 

"'  Fecerisne  ante  Rostra  pontem  continuatis  tribunalibus,  per  queni 
consul  ...  ad  necem  duceretur.     Cic.  in  Vatin.  9.    (Note  547.) 

Populus,  duce  Sex.  Clodio  scriba,  corpus  P.  Clodii  in  Curiam 
intulit,  cremavit(|ue  subselliis  et  tribunalibus  et  mensis  et  codicibus 
librariorum,  quo  igne  et  ipsa  Curia  flagravit,  et  item  Basilica  Porcia, 
quae  erat  ei  iuncta,  ambusta  est.     Ascon.  argum.  ad  Git.  pro  Mil. 

Confestimque  circumstantium  turba  vulgulta  arida  et  cum  sub- 
selliis tribunalia  .  .  .  congessit  (ad  funus  Caesaris).  Sueton.  Jul.  84. 
(Note  571.) 

*  The  several  tribunals  placed  in  the  basilicas  appear  to  have  been 
distributed  in  their  areas  like  the  older  tribunals  in  the  open  Forum, 
and  not  to  have  occupied  separate  rooms.     See  p.  45. 


CHAP. 
IV. 


0  2 


CHAPTER  V. 


THE  ROSTRA. 


ConcioTios 
held  in  the 
Comitium. 


CHAP.  V.  The  several  Rostra  of  the  Comitium  and  Forum 
have  been  alreadv  mentioned  in  treatins;  of  the 
localities  in  which  they  were  placed.  But  in  order 
to  gain  a  clear  idea  of  the  relation  of  these  monu- 
ments to  one  another,  and  of  the  part  played  by 
each  in  the  history  of  the  Forum,  some  connected 
account  of  them  is  required. 

The  old  meeting-place  of  the  citizens  of  Rome 
was  doubtless  the  Comitium.  It  was  here  that  the 
conciones  were  assembled  at  which  tlie  measures 
proposed  by  the  magistrates  were  recommended 
onife'*"""  *^  *^^^  people.'''  But  it  is  not  known  at  what  period 
Comitium.  ^  fixed  platform  was  first  erected  for  the  use  of 
orators.  Some  such  monument  probably  existed  in 
very  remote  times,  since  as  early  as  B.C.  438  the 
statues  of  the  ambassadors  killed  by  the  Fide- 
nates  are  said  by  Livy  to  have  been  placed  at  the 
Rostra  ;  and,  though  the  name  of  Rostra  seems  to 
be  applied  to  it  by  anticipation,  there  is  no  reason 
why  the  suggestum  should  not  have  l)een  already 
on  the  site  which  it  occupied  when  within  Cicero\s 
recollection  these  statues  were  still  before  it.^ 


533 


Dionys.  ii.  50;  iv.  38;  vi.  67;  vii.  17;  xi.  39.  (Note  455.) 
See  before,  pp.  146,  148,  162. 

*  Legatorum,  qui  FIdenis  caesi  sunt,  statuae  publico  in  Rostris 
positae  sunt.     Llv.  iv.  17. 

Rex  Veientium  quatuor  legates  populi  Roniani  Fidenis  interemit, 


11 


ROSTRA  OF  THE  COMITIUM. 


197 


In  the  vear  B.C.  838,  when  the  Latin  towns  were  chap.  v. 
subjugated  under  the  consulship  of  Camillus  and  Suggcstum 

'     "-^  1  x*     1  1  •  adorned 

Maenius,  some  of  the  rostra  or  beaks  of  the  ships  with  ws- 
taken  from  the  Antiates  were  used  to  adorn  the 
siiggestum.     The  number  of  beaks  so  used  seems 
to  have  been  six.  ,  The  platform  was  thenceforth 
known  bv  the  name  of  Rostra.^^^    This  monument  TheKc.stra 

^  ,  a  temple. 

was  consecrated  by  augury,  and  was  appropriated 
to  the  use  of  the  higher  magistrates,  who  in  early 
times  were  themselves  inaugurated.  Cicero  speaks 
of  it  as  an  act  of  proflmation  when  the  tribune 
Vatinius  produced  the  informer  Vettius  upon 
the  Rostra,  that  inaugurated  temple,  to  which 
former  tribunes  had  only  invited  the  chiefs  of  the 
state  to  give  authority  to  their  proposals.^  A 
special  interest  in  the  Rostra  appears  to  be  here 
ascribed  to  the  tribunes,  who  are  represented  by 
Livy  as  using  them  for  a  tribunal.' 

quorum  statuae  in  Rostris  steterunt  usque  ad  nostram  memoriam. 
Cic.  rhil.  ix.  2. 

^^  Naves  Antiatium  partim  in  navalia  Roraae  subductae,  partim 
incensae,  rostrisque  earum  suggestum  in  foro  extructum  adornari 
placuit,  Rostraque  id  templum  appellatum.     Li  v.  viii.  14. 

Extant  et  parta  de  Antio  spolia,  quae  Maenius  in  suggestu  fori 
capta  hostium  classe  suffixit,  si  tamen  ilia  classis,  nam  sex  fuere  ros- 
tratae  ;  sed  hie  numerus  illis  initiis  navale  bellum  fuit.    Florus.  i.  11. 

Antiquior  columnarum  (celebratio),  sicut  C.  Maenio,  qui  devicerat 
priscos  Latinos,  ....  eodemque  in  consulatu  in  suggestu  rostra 
devictis  Antiatibus  fixerat  anno  urbis  ccccxvi.    Tlin.  N.  H.  xxxiv.  1 1 . 

«  Cum  L.  Vetiium  ...  in  concioneni  produxeris,  indicera  in  Ros- 
tris, in  illo  incjuam  augurato  templo  ac  loco,  collocaris,  quo  auctori- 
tatis  exquirendae  causa  ceteri  iribuni  plebis  principes  civitatis  pro- 
ducere  consuerunt,  ibi  tu  indicem  Vettium,  etc.  Cic.  in  Vatin.  x.  24. 
Liv.  viii.  14.     (Note  535.) 

-  Llv.  xxxviii.51.     (Note  545.)    Val.  Max.  ix.  5,  2.    (Note  421.) 


198 


THE  ROMAN  FORUM 


CHAP.  V.  Cicero  says  that  M.  Antonius  the  orator,  whose 
head  was  affixed  to  the  liostra  when  he  was  put 
to  death  bv  order  of  Mariiis,  had  adorned  the 
same  Rostra  during  his  censorship  (b.c.  97)  witli 
manuhiae  i7nperatoriae,  tlie  fruits  apparently  of 
his  Cilician  victories,  which  gained  him  a  triumph 
five  years  before. ^^^ 

Site  of  the       The  sito  of  these  first   Rostra   has   been   de- 

tra.  scribed  in  a  previous  cliapter.     They  were  upon 

the  Comitium,  and  were  entered  from  it,**  but 
were  so  placed  with  reference  to  the  remaining 
part  of  the  Forum  that  the  speech,  which  was 
primarily  addressed  to  the  aristocratic  body  in 
the  former,  could  also   be   heard   by  a  plebeian 

Posture  of  audience  in  the  latter.  In  later  times  it  became 
the  custom  for  orators  to  address  their  harangues 
to  the  larger  asseml)ly.  This  alteration  of  posture 
indicated  a  material  change  in  the  constitution  of 
Rome.  According  to  Cicero,  C.  Licinius  Crassus, 
tribune  of  the  plebs,  B.C.  145,  was  the  first  to 
turn  in  the  direction  of  the  Forum,  Init  Plutarch 
ascribes  the  innovation  to  C.  Gracchus.^^' 


538 


lam  M.  Antonii  in  his  ipsis  Rostris,  in  quibus  ille  rempublicam 
constantissime  consul  defenderat,  quaeque  censor  imperatoriis 
manubiis  ornarat,  positum  caput  illud  fuit,  a  quo  erant  multoruni 
civium  capita  servata.     Cic.  de  Orat.  iii.  3. 

»  Pulsus  e  Rostris  (fratermeus)  in  Comitio  iacuit.  Cic.  p.  Sext  35. 
See  before,  p.  150. 

*"  Is  (C.  Licinius  Crassus)  primum  instituit  in  forum  versus  agere 
cum  populo.  Cic.  de  Amicit.  25.  A  passage  ofVarro,  which  has 
given  rise  to  much  controversy,  seems  to  allude  to  the  same  change. 


SITE  OF  THE  FIRST  ROSTRA. 


199 


The  Rostra  were  in  front  of  the  Curia,  and  so  chap  v. 
near  to  that  l)uilding  as  almost  to  touch  it.^^^    They  Rostra 

•,  f.  t       ^     -,  1  ,  i«i      "nder  con- 

must  therefore  have  been  close  to  the  steps  wliicJi  troi  of  the 
led  to  its  principal  entrance.^  This  position  was,  no 
doubt,  chosen  for  the  convenience  of  the  Senate, 
who  made  use  of  the  Rostra  for  announcing  and 
recommending  their  decisions  to  the  assembled 
people.  They  would  also  in  this  position  be  more 
immediatelv  under  the  control  of  the  Fathers  of 
the  State.  Their  relation  to  the  Senate  in  this 
respect  is  noticed  by  Cicero,  who  says  that  the 
Curia  watches  and  besets  tlie  Rostra  to  punish 
indiscretion  and  temper  duty.^  The  actual  pos- 
session of  the  Rostra  was  a  matter  of  importance 
in  a  moment  of  ])olitical  excitement,  and  Dio- 
nysius,  in  illustrating  the  influence  of  the  patria 
jwtestas  among  the  Romans,  speaks  of  it  as  a 
familiar  thing  for  a  son,  however  eminent  his 
public  position,  to  be  dragged  by  his  father  from 

Eiusdem  gentis  C.  Licinius,  tribunus  plebis  cum  esset  post  reges 
exactos  ccclxv.,  primus  populum  ad  leges  excipiundas  in  septem 
iugera  forensia  e  Comitio  eduxit.     Varro  de  Re  Rust.  i.  2.  9. 

Torrov  rov  vofiop  eintphpwv  rd  re  dWa  Xsyfrat  (nrovcuffai  ha<pipovTh)Q^ 
Kai  rioi>  Trpu  avTov  yrdvTojv  dijftayijjywv  irpbg  Tt)v  evyKXrjTov  d<popm'TO}V 
Kai  Tu  KaXovfifvop  Ko/wiVtor,  TrputTov  rorf  (rrpatpf'tc;  t^io  tt  puQ  Tt)v  dyopdv 
Crjfitjyopt'iffai,  Kcii  to  Xoittuv  ovtio  ttouIv  t^  tKfivov,  fiiicp^  TrapfyKXifffi  Kai 
fierarrrdrrn  <T\ifiJiaTog  fifya  Trpdyfia  Kivi)<Tor,  Kai  fitreveyKiov  rpoirov  rivd  Tt)v 
TToXtreiav  tK  Tf/g  dpitTTOKpaTiag  eiq  Tt)v  ^ijfXOKpaTiav.    Plut.  C.  Gracch.  5. 

^"  To7r  TTpo  ToT'  fioi>XfvTi]piov  roTt  KHn'tvoiQ  l^fioXoiq.  Diodor.  Sic.  xii. 
26.     Asconius  ad  Cic.  pro  Mil.  5.  (Note  551.) 

2  See  before,  p.  151. 

'  Speculatur  atque  obbldet  Rostra,  vindex  temcritatis  et  modcra- 
trix  oflicii,  Curia.     Cic.  pro  Flacco,  24. 


200 


CHAP.  V 


History  of 
the  first 
Uostra. 


THE  ROMAX  FORUM. 

•  tlie  Rostra,  if  lie  was  advancing  opinions  hostile 
to  the  policy  of  the  Senate/^* 

The  Rostra,  thus  advantageously  placed  for  the 
influence  of  the  nobles,  was  the  scene  of  the  long 
struggle  between  the  aristocratic  and  democratic 
elements  of  the  Roman  constitution.   It  was  from 
these  Rostra  that  the   Gracchi    advocated   their 
laws.     Here,  according  to  the  story  told  by  Livy, 
Africanus  was   arraigned    by  the  tribunes,  and, 
having  summoned  the  whole  people  to  the  Capitol 
to  give  thanks  to  the  gods  for  his  former  vic- 
tories, left  his  accusers  alone  upon  the  Rostra.^ 
From  the  same  place  Cicero    spoke  his  second 
and  third  Catilinarian  orations.     Durino;  the  con- 
sulship  of  Caesar  and  Bibulus,  Avhen  the  former 
found  the  senate    determinately  opposed   to   his 
measures,   he  closed  the    Curia  and  brought  all 
his  legislation   before  the  people.'     On  one  occa- 
sion in  the  midst  of  these  contests,  Vatinius  the 
tribune  made  a  bridge  with  the  platforms  of  the 
tribunals,  by  which  he  took  the  Rostra  bv  storm, 


su 


Kara  tovtov  ys  toi  vofiov  tivdpeg  tTrKpavelg  StifinyopioQ  SifHwvTeg  im 
Twv  tfii36Xiov  h'aPTiag  fiiv  rg  (iovXy  Kixapicrn'tvag  Se  ung  CnfioriKolg  .  .  . 
KaracTraaekvng  c'tTro  too  l3,'ifiaTog  dmix^nnav  vtto  tC^v  Trcirepiov,  kt\. 
Dionys.  ii.  26. 

^  Tribuni  in  Rostris  prima  luce  consedcrunt.  Citatus  reus  .  .  .  per 
mediam  concionem  ad  Rostra  subiit  .  .  .  Ab  Rostris  se  universa 
concio  avertit  et  secuta  Seipionem  est;  a<leo  ut  postremo  scribae 
viatoresque  tribunos  relinquerent.     Liv.  xxxviii.  51. 

^  «  Kai   l3ovXi,v  ptv  ovkIti   avvnytv  ^tt/   to  hog  '6\ov,  IttI   Si  tCjv  t/i/Jo\a>v 
IcnfiriyopH.     Appian.  Bell.  Civ.  ii.  10. 


ASSOCIATIONS  OF  THE  FIRST  ROSTRA. 

and  put  liibulus  under  arrest.'*'  Cicero,  three  years 
after,  in  denouncing  the  disturbances  wliich  took 
place  in  the  Forum  on  the  day  on  which  his  own 
recal  from  exile  w^as  proposed,  when  his  l)rother 
was  driven  from  the  Rostra,  and  almost  lost  his 
life,  gives  a  lively  picture  of  Avhat  had  been 
connnon  in  the  recollection  of  his  hearers.  ''  You 
remember,"  he  says,  "  the  Tiber  filled  with 
cori)ses,  the  drains  choked,  the  blood  sponged 
from  the  Forum."  ''  Stone-throwing  we  have 
often  seen;  not  so  often,  though  too  frequently, 
swords  drawn;  but  such  a  massacre,  such  heaps  of 
human  bodies,  who  ever  saw  in  the  Forum,  unless 
perhaps  on  that  day  of  Cinna  and  Octavius  ?"^ 

The  Rostra  of  the  Comitium  were  alreadv  as- 
sociated  with  some  of  the  most  terri])le  atrocities 
of  history.  The  heads  of  the  consul  Octavius  and 
of  the  chiefs  of  the  aristocracy  put  to  death  by 
Marius  and  Cinna  were  hung  in  front  of  the 
Rostra;  and  in  the  retribution  of  Sulla  similar 
horrors  were  repeated.^ 


m: 


Volo  uti  mihi  respondeas,  .  .  .    fecerisne  ante  Rostra  pontem 
continuatis  tribunalibus,  per  quern  Consul  populi  Roniani,   non  in 
carcerem,  sed  ad  supplicium  et  ad  necem  duceretur.     Cic.  in  Vatin. 
ix.  21. 

«  (Frater  meus)  pulsus  e  Rostris  in  Comitio  iacuit  .  .  .  Memi- 
nistis,  turn,  indices,  corporibus  civium  Tiberim  compleri,  cloacas 
referciri,  e  foro  spongiis  effingi  sanguinem  .  .  .  Lapidationes  per- 
saepe  vidimus,  non  ita  saepe  sed  nimium  tamen  saepe  ^ladios, 
caedem  vero  tantam,  tantos  acervos  corporum  exstructos,  nisi  forte 
illo  Cinnano  atque  Octaviano  die,  quis  unquam  in  foro  vidit?  Cic. 
p.  Sext.  XXXV.  xxxvi. 

"  App.  Bell.  Civ.  i.7 1,94;  Dio  Cass.  frag.  119,  139  ;  Florus,  iii.  21. 


201 


CHAP.  V. 


4 


202 


CHAP.  V. 


THE  ROMAN  FORUM. 


REMOVAL  OF  THE  ROSTRA. 


203 


\. 


Public 
funerals  at 
the  Rostra. 


Rostra 
between 
B.C.  52  and 
B.C.  44. 


Removal 
of  the 
Rostra, 
B.C.  44. 


Upon  tlie  same  Rostra  the  body  of  Sulla  was 
placed  in  liis  funeral  ceremony,  as  those  of  Julius 
and  Augustus  were  deposited  upon  the  later 
Eostra  of  the  Forum.  The  body  of  Clodius  was 
also  placed  upon  the  old  Rostra  before  it  was 
burnt  by  the  populace  in  the  Curia.^^^ 

The  Rostra  of  the  Comitium  continued  in  use 
until  the  destruction  of  the  Curia  upon  the  i 
occasion  last  mentioned,  b.c.  52.  During  that 
scene  of  tumult  one  of  the  tribunes  continued  to 
address  the  mob  from  the  suggestum  till  he  was 
scorched,  as  Cicero  sarcastically  describes  it,  by 
the  fire  which  was  burning  at  his  l)ack.^ 

During  the  eight  years  which  followed  the  \ 
destruction  of  the  Curia  Hostilia,  the  site  of  that 
monument  underwent  a  series  of  alterations, 
which  have  been  described  in  a  previous  chapter.^ 
Whether  the  old  Rostra  continued  in  use  in  spite 
of  the  disturbance  around  them,  we  have  no  in- 
formation. 

We  learn  from  Dio,  that  in  the  last  year  of 
Caesar's  dictatorship,  b.c.  44,  the  Rostra  were 
removed  to  the  position  which  they  still   occu- 

"«  Appian.  Hell.  Civ.  ii.  21. 
_  '  Declarant  huius  ambusti  tribuni  plebis  illae  intermortuae  con- 
c.ones,  etc.  Cic.  pro  Mil.  5.  Tribuni  plebis  .  .  .  concionati  sunt  eo 
ipso  tempore  .  .  .  quo  propter  Clodii  corpus  Curia  incensa  est, 
nee  pnus  destiterunt  quam  flamma  eius  incendii  fu-ati  sunt  e  con- 
Clone.  Erant  enira  tunc  Rostra  non  eo  loco  quo  nunc  sunt,  sed  ad 
Conmiuui  prope  iuncta  Curiae.  Ob  hoc  T.  Munatium  ambustum 
tribunum  appellat.  Asconius  ad  Cic.  ib. 
'  See  p   153. 


1 


pied  in  the  time  of  the  historian,  having  been  chap.  v. 
previously,  as  he  informs  us,  somewhere  in  the 
middle  of  the  Forum.^'^  Whether  the  locality  last 
mentioned  refers  to  some  temporary  position 
occupied  by  the  Rostra  after  the  destruction  of 
the  Curia  Hostilia,  or  whether,  as  is  more  pro- 
bable, it  is  a  loose  description  of  their  ancient 
site  between  the  Comitium  and  the  Forum,  it  is 
impossible  to  say;  but  it  may  be  observed  that 
Appian  uses  similar  language  to  describe  the 
latter  locality  in  speaking  of  the  head  of  the 
younger  Marius  being  hung  before  the  Rostra.^ 
It  is  possible  that  neither  Appian  nor  Dio  were 
acquainted  with  the  precise  site  of  the  ancient 
Rostra,  which  had  ])ecome  in  the  time  of  the 
Antonines  a  mere  matter  of  archaeofosfv. 

The  new  Rostra  were  adorned  with  l)eaks  of 
ships,  which  were  believed  to  be  the  same  relics 
of  the  navy  of  the  ancient  Latins  that  had  deco- 
rated the  old  suggestum!' 

A   gilded   equestrian    statue   of  Sulla,   and   a  statues 

at  the 


563 


Kai  TO  iSrifia,  tv  fifnif)  ttov  Trporepov  rtjc  ayopuQ  or,  Iq  top  vvv  tottov 
avexiopirrOr].     Dio.  Cass,  xliii.  49. 

*  Kai  avTi)v  (Mapiov  t})v  KftpaXiiv)  u  ^vWag  ip  ayop^  fii^y  yrpd  twv 
tfif36\iop  Q'^jievoQ  iTTiyfXdfTai  Xfyerm  tj)  viorijTi  tov  vTrdrov^  ktX.  Appian. 
Bell.  Civ.  i.  94.  The  heads  appear  to  have  been  hung  upon  the 
fSrifia  itself.  Compare  Dio,  frag.  139,  Ai  Kf(paXai  tg  t^v  twv  'Pwfialujv 
dyopav  Uofiii^ovTo,  Kai  tiri  tov  (it'ifiaTog  tKeriOevro,  and  Appian.  Bell. 
Civ.  i.  71  (of  the  head  of  Octavius)  lK(>ffid<T9r]  irpb  twv  tfi/ioXiov  iv 
dyop^,  where  the  historian  observes  that  this  precedent  was  followed 
in  later  massacres. 

*  Florus.  i.  11 .  (Note  536.) 


Rostra. 


204 


THE  EOMAN  FORUM. 


THE  SECOND  110STR4. 


205 


CHAP.  V.  statue  of  Fonipey,  bad  formerly  stood  in  front  of 

the   ancient  sitgrjestiim,  but  bad  been    dispbiced 

by  the  people.     Tbese   were   restored  upon  tlie 

erection  of  tbe  new  Kostra.    An  inscription,  wbicb 

attributed  tbe  restoration  to  tbe  consul  Antony, 

only  served  to  increase  tbe  glory  of  Caesar,  to 

wbom  alone  sucb  li])erality  could  be  ascribed.^^"^ 

On  tbis  restitution  Cicero  is  said  to  bave  made 

tbe  epigrammatic  remark,  tbat  in  setting  up  Pom- 

pey's  statues  Caesar  strengtbened  tbe  foundation 

of  bis  own.'  Two  statues  of  Julius  bimself  adorned 

tbe  same  monument,  one  witb  a  civic  cbaplet  as 

tbe  saviour  of  bis  fellow-citizens,  tbe  otber  with 

an  obsidional  crown  as  tbe  successful  defender  of 

Rome.® 

The  evidence  of  Dio  is  important  to  show  tbat 
tbe  Rostra,  after  tbe  one  removal  wbicb  he  re- 
cords, remained  on  tbe  same  spot  for  nearly  three 
centuries,  that  is  to  say,  during  all  the  remaining 
period  tbat  any  interest  attached  to  such  an  insti- 
tution. It  was  upon  tbe  Rostra  in  their  new  site 
that  Caesar  sat  in  purple  upon  a  throne  of  gold, 
when  Antony  offered  him  tbe  diadem,  and  a 
groan  echoed    through    the    Forum.^     From   tbe 

^^  Dio  Cass.  xlii.  18,  xliii.  49;  Plutarch.  Caes.  57  ;  Sueton.  lul.  75. 

•  Plutarch.  Caes.  57 ;  Id.  Apophthegm,  (ed.  Reiske,  p.  774.) 

"  Dio  Cass.  xliv.  4.  Other  statues  at  the  Rostra  have  been 
already  mentioned  in  Chapter  II.     See  p.  86-89. 

"  Sedebat  in  Rostris  collega  tuus,  amictus  toga  purpurea,  in  sella 
aurea,  coronatus.  Adscendis,  accedis  ad  sellam  ;  ita  eras  Lupercus 
ut  te  consulem  esse  meminisse  deberes  ;  diadcma  ostenilis  ;  gemitus 


History  of 
the  second 
Rostra. 


same  Rostra  Cicero's  later  barans-ues  were  de-  chap.  v. 
livered,  and  upon  them  tbe  orator's  lifeless  bead 
and  hand  were  fixed,  conspicuous  among  a  number 
of  otber  like  ghastly  trophies.^^^  From  these  Rostra 
Augustus  recommended  to  tbe  people   bis   new 
laws,    which    were    to    restore    the   sanctity   of 
marriage,  and  reform  tbe  corru])tions  of  Roman 
society;  and  before  tbe  same  Rostra  his  daughter 
Julia  kept  her  assignations  with  her  paramours, 
or  abandoned  herself  to  any  chance  companion.^ 
Upon  tbese  Rostra  Trajan  was  pleased  to  appear 
as  a  citizen  rather  than  a  prince,  and  to  accept  or 
resign  tbe  ancient  offices  of  tbe  magistracy  before 
popular  assemblies  already  unaccustomed  to  sucb 
condescension;^  and  upon  tbese  Rostra  be  sat,  as 

toto  foro.  .  .  Tu  diadema  imponebas  cum  plangore  popuH,  ille  cum 
plausu  reiiciebat.  Cic.  Phil.  ii.  34.  Sueton.  lul.  79;  Dio  Cass, 
xliv.  11  ;  Appian.  Bell.  Civ.  ii.  109  ;   Plutarch,  Caes.  61. 

*«**  Liv.  Epit.  cxx. ;  Appian.  Bell.  Civ.  iv.  20  ;  Dio  Cass,  xlvii.  8  ; 
luvenal.  x.  120. 

•  Divus  Augustus  flagitia  principalis  domus  In  publicum  emisit  .  . 
admissos  gregatim  adulteros  .  .  forum  ipsuni  ac  Rostra,  ex  quibus 
pater  legem  de  adulteriis  tulerat,  filiae  in  stupra  placuisse,  quoti- 
dianum  ad  Marsyam  concursum,  quum  ex  adultera  in  quaestuuriam 
versa  ius  omnis  licenclae  sub  ignoto  adultero  peteret.  Seneca  de 
Benef.  vi.  32. 

Tt)v  fievTOi  'lovXiav  T})v  OvyuTcpa  dfreXfiaivoimav  ovtwq  woTf.  Kai  iv  ry 
uyop^  Kai  iir'  avToh  ye  too  fSt'ifiarog  Kai  Kiofid'Cfiv  vvKTOjp  Kai  (rvfiTTivf-iv^ 
o;//f  ^{}i:oT€  (pioputrag  inrfpopyifrOi}.     Dio  Cass   Iv.  10. 

Apud  nos  exemplum  licentiae  huius  non  est  aliud  quam  fdia  Divi 
August!,  cuius  luxuria  noctibus  coronatam  Marsyam  literae  illius  dei 
gemunt.     Plin.  N.  II.  xxi.  6. 

Marsya  statua  erat  pro  Rostris.  Schol.  Cruq.  ad  Ilorat.  Sat.  i.  6. 
120. 

-  lam  toties  procedere  in  Rostra,  inasccnsumque  ilium  superbiae 


20() 


THE  ROMAN  FOIIUM. 


I 


I 


^"j^v-  we  liave  seen,  to  witness  the  burning  of  the 
registers  of  the  taxes  which  he  had  remitted/'^ 
We  have  the  testimony  of  Dio,  that  the  same 
Rostra  continued  to  exist  in  the  reign  of  Severus. 
There  can  be  little  dou])t  that  they  were  among 
the  tliree  Rostra  which  were  to  be  seen  in  the 
Forum  Romanum  in  the  time  of  Constantine,' 
and  probal)ly  continued  on  the  same  spot  as  long 
as  any  trace  of  the  old  condition  of  things  re- 
mained. 

fh^Ko'L.  ^  ^^'^^'   ^^«P^^^   t^   tlie  form  of  the   Rostra  in 
either   situation,    our    information    is    not    verv 

Figures  on  accuratc.  Two  coins  of  the  Lollian  and  Sulpician 
gentes  are  supposed  to  contain  representations 
of  Rostra.  The  former,  whicli  has  the  leo:end 
PALiKANVs,  exhibits  what  appears  to  be  a  curved 
terrace,  ornamented  with  arched  panels  in  which 
are  fixed  the  beaks  of  ships,  and  having  upon 
it  a  sort  of  table  or  desk.  The  other  seems 
to  show  an  oblong  platform,  which  is  orna- 
mented in  front  with  rostra,  and  on  Avhich  two 
persons  are  seated.  Until  the  discoverv  of  the 
Trajan  monument  in  the  Forum  we  had  no  image 
of  the  Rostra  on  sculpture.  Formino-  our  idea 
from  the  slight  representations  there  given  of  the 
later   Rostra,    we    should    conceive    them    as    a 

principum  locum  terere,  hie  suscipere,  hie  ponere  magistratus,  quain 
dignum  te.     Plin.  Panesyr.  65. 


Trajan 
nionunient 
in  the 
Forum. 


563 


See  before,  p.  64. 
'  Curiosum,  in  Reg.  viii.     See  Appendix. 


FORM  OF  THE  ROSTRA. 


207 


I 


I 


rectangular   j)Iatform,    large   enough    to   accom-  chap.  v. 
modate  several  persons  besides  the   orator,   ap- 
proached  by  steps  from  behind,  and  ornamented 
with   a   double   row   of  7^osfra   upon   their  face. 
The  platform,  though  at  no  great  height  a])ove 
the  Forum,''^  was  sufficiently  raised  to  place  the 
persons  who  might  ])e  upon  it  out  of  contact  with 
the  audience.     Its  possession  therefore  afforded 
some  security  to  its  occupiers.     The  tribune  Va- 
tinius,    when    he    wished   to   get   at    the    consul 
Bibulus,  who   was   in  possession  of  the  ancient 
Rostra,  had  to  make  a  bridge  for  this  purpose  out 
of  the  wooden  tribunals  of  the  Forum  ;'  and  a 
sloping  platform  was  constructed  in  front  of  the 
Rostra  for   the   ceremony  of  the    coronation    of 
Tiridates.'      When  the  emperor  Gal]}a  and  his 
attendants  in  the  Forum,  alarmed   at  the  news 
of  the  proceedings  of  the  Praetorians,  were  un- 
certain what  course  to  take,  and    some  of  those 
about  him  proposed   to    return  to   the  Palatine, 
and  others  to   make  for   the    Capitol,    the    ma- 
jority  were  in  favour  of  occupying  the  Rostra.^ 

The  site  of  the  Rostra  of  the  Forum,  near  the  Site  of  the 
middle  of  the  north  side  of  the  open  area,  has  fh^Forum. 
been  determined  in  a  previous  chapter,  principally 

^*  Frontoad  Antonin.  i.  2.   (Note  386.) 

«  Cic.  in  Vatin.  ix.  21.  (Note  547.) 

•  See  before,  p.  95. 

^  lam  Marius  Cel.sus  hand  laeta  retulerat,  cum  alii  Palatium  redire 
aln  Capltolium  petere,  plerique  Rostra  occupanda  censerent.  Tac' 
Hist.  i.  29. 


208 


THE  ROMAN  FORUM. 


Rostra. 


CHAP.  V.  by  the  aid  of  the  sculptures  on  the  monument  of 
Fanenii  of   Trajan.^^^    But  there  is  one  important  event  that 

Caesar  '^  ^ 

before  the    occurrcd  shortlj  after  the  removal  of  the  Rostra 
to  this  spot,  which  it  will  be  necessary  to  notice 
with    reference    to    the    oriorinal    authorities    as 
bearing  upon   some    topographical    questions  re- 
lating to  this  monument.  -The  circumstances  of - 
Caesar's  funeral  are  principally  known  to  us  by 
the  naratives  of  Dio  Cassius,  Appian,  and   Sue- 
tonius.    After  the  assassination  of  the  dictator, 
his  body  was  privately  brought  to  his  residence 
in  the  Regia.'^'     When  tlie  funeral  was  to  take 
place    the   pyre    was   prepared    in    the    Campus 
Martins,  near  the  spot  where  his  daughter  Julia, 
the    wife    of  Pompey,  had   been    l)uried   by  the 
popular  will.    The  bier  was  borne  from  the  Regia 
into  the  Forum  l)y  persons  of  magisterial  rank, 
and  placed  on  or  before  the  Rostra,  where  a  sort 
of  catafalque  had  been  constructed  in  the  form 
of  the  Temple  of  Venus  Genitrix.     The  consul 
Antony    mounted   the    Rostra    and    caused    the 
Senate's  decree  in  his  honour,  and  the  oath  which 
had  been  taken  by  the  Senate,  including  the  con- 
spirators, to   watch   over  his  safety,  to  be  read. 
A  few  words  of  his  own  in  addition  were  more 

**'  See  before,  p  76.  Becker  asserts  that  the  Rostra  were  suh  tjete- 
ribus,  on  the  authority  of  the  passage  in  Suetonius,  Aug.  100  (Note 
580),  where,  instead  of  pro  Rostris  veterihus,  he  adopts  the  reading, 
jfro  Hostris  sub  vrterrbus.  (Becker,  Handbuch,  i.  338.)  This  reading 
must  now  be  finally  abandoned. 

■"  Appian.  ii    118. 


FUNERAL  OF  CAESAR. 


209 


than  sufficient.    The  populace  became  eager  for  chap.  v. 
vengeance.     The    conspirators   were    sought   in 
vain.     According  to  Appian  the  body  of  Caesar 
was  carried  by  the  mob  to  the  Capitol  to  be  at 
once   placed   among   the    gods,    but   the   priests 
having  refused  it  admission  to  the  temple,  it  was 
brought  back  to  the  Forum  and  placed  before  the 
Regia;  other  authors  speak  only  of  a  proposal  to 
carry  the  body  to  the  Capitol  to  be  burnt  there. 
A  pyre  was  at  length  hastily  made  in  the  Forum  Burning  of 
by  collecting  the  materials  of  the  tribunals  and  beforethe 
benches,  and  whatever  other  fuel  came  to  hand.  ^^^'^' 
The  apparatus  of  the  funeral  and  other  ofFerin2:s 
of  value   were   heaped  upon  it.      The  veterans 
threw  on  their  arms,  the  women  their  ornaments. 
Thus    the    l)ody   was    burned,    and    the    people 
watclied  it  tlirough  the  night;  some  of  Caesar's 
freedmen  tlien  collected    his    ashes    and    placed 
them  in  tlie  sepulchre  of  his  family.     The  spot  site  of  the 
where  the  pyre  had  stood  was  first  marked  by  ^/cwr. 
an    altar,    and    afterwards  became  the  site  of  the 
temple  erected  in  lionour  of  Julius.^'^ 

'*■'  Funere  indicto  rogus  extructus  est  in  Martio  campo,  et  pro 
Rostris  aurata  aedes  ad  simulacrum  temi)li  Veneris  Genetricis  collo- 
cata  .  .  .  Lectum  pro  Rostris  in  forum  magistratus  et  honoribus 
functi  detulerunt.  Quem  cum  pars  in  Capitolini  lovis  cella  cremare 
pars  in  Curia  Pompei  destinaret,  repente  duo  quidam  .  .  .  arden- 
tibus  cereis  succenderunt,  confcstimque  circumstantium  turba  vir- 
gulta  arida  et  cum  subselliis  tribunalia  .  .  .  congessit  .  .  .  Plebs 
.  .  .  postca  solidara  columnam  prope  viginti  pedum  lapidis  Numidici 
in  foro  statuit,  scripsit(pie,  Parenti  Patriae.  Apud  earn  longo  tempore 
Facrilicare  .  .  .  perseveravit.     Sueton.  lul.  84,  85. 

K^fc    TOVTOv    TO   Tf   (Tojfiu  ai'Tov    dpTrdtravTe^,   o'l  fiiv  iq  to  ohrffia  iv  (^ 


210 


CHAP.  V. 


Rostra 
Julia. 


Caesar's 
})ody  l)nrnt 
l)efore  the 
Kcfjia,  or 
before  the 
Rostra? 


THE  ROMAN  FORUM. 

The  base  of  this  temple  has  been  hitely  exca- 
vated at  the  eastern  corner  of  the  Forum.  We 
have  already  seen  that  it  had  in  front  of  it  a  large 
platform,  which  served  the  purpose  of  a  siigges- 
turn,  and  was  adorned  with  the  beaks  of  ships 
taken  at  Actium.  It  thus  ])ecame  a  sort  of  second 
Rostra,  and  appears  to  have  been  sometimes 
called  the  Rostra  Julia.^"^ 

The  statement  of  Appian,  that  the  spot  where 
the  body  of  Caesar  was  burnt  was  the  same  that 
was  subsequently  occupied  by  his  temple,  is 
confirmed  by  Dio,  and  is  so  consistent  with  ante- 
cedent probability  that  we  cannot  hesitate  to 
accept  it.'^    ^On   the  other  hand,  the  narrative  of 

cnritjipaKTO^  oi  St    tc  to   KaTriTU)\iov  Koiiiffai  re  ifSovXavTo  kui  tKel  Kavffai. 
KioXvOt vTcg  Si  inro  tujv  (rrparnoTuiP  .  .  .  avrov  tv  ry  dyop^,  woirep  el^ov^ 

lirl  TTvpav  lTr'f:9i]Kav f^iofiov  ct  riva  Iv  t<^  TtjQ  Trvpoq  xiopiif)  iSpvaa- 

fievoi  .   .  Oi'eiv  rt   tir'   avTi^   .   .  iirex^ipovv.     o\    ovv   imaTOi  tKelvuv    rt 
fivirperpap,  ktX.     Dio  Cass.  xliv.  50,  51. 

To  aaifia  .  .  .  tTTJ  TO.  f/i/3oXa  TrpovTiQij  .  .  .  kui  6  'Avtmvio(;  ypi]iiivo{; 
tiTreiv  .  .  TO  tTTiTciipiov,  ktX.  "O^e  Sk  avTolg  txov(Tiv  i]Sr}  rl  Kai  xeipibv  tyyvQ 
ovaiv  av'iaxe  tiq  vmp  to  XixoQ  dvpSftKfXov  auTov  Kaitrapog  Ik  Kj)poii  ire- 
TroiijfitvoV  TO  yap  (rdfia  ujg  vtttiou  tTri  X^xovg  ovk  tiopuTo  .  .  'O  ci 
Sijfiog,  tVt  TO  Xsxog  .  .  IrrapeXOutv,  t<pfpov  ai'TO  tg  to  KamTioXtop  .  .~j 
KuAvo^evoi  Sk  VTTo  Twp  lepiwv,  tg  Trfv  ciyopdv  avOig  tOetrav,  tv6a  to  ttuXcu 
'Piofiaioig  tffTi  ^maiXeiov^  Kal  '^vXa  avTi^  Kai  [idOpa  cxra  ttoXXu  ))v  iv 
dyopqt  .  .  .  (TvveveyKovTeg  ....  t^i]^av,  Kai  ti]v  vvktu  Travciifiei  ti)  Trvp^ 
naptfievov.  tv9a  (iiojxog  TrpCJTog  tTtOij,  vvv  S'  taTi  veCog  auTou  Kaicrapog. 
Appian.  Bell.  Civ.  ii.  143,  147,  148. 

Cicero's  scornful  allusion  to  Caesar's  funeral,  in  his  titade  af^ainst 
Antony,  contains  no  topographical  details  relating  to  the  Forum. 
Funeri  t}H-anni,  si  funus  illud  fuit,  sceleratissime  praefuisti  .  .  .  tu, 
tu,  inquam,  illas  faces  incendisti,  et  eas  quibus  semiust'ulatus  ille  est, 
et  eas  quibus  incensa  L.  Bellieni  domus  deflagravit.    Cic.  Phil.  ii.  36. 

^■2  Dio  Cass.  Ivi.  34.  (Note  580.)     See  before,  p.  139. 

'  Appian.  Bell.  Civ.  ii.  148.  (Note  571);  Dio  Cass,  xlvii.  18. 
(Note  361). 


PLACE  OF  CREMATION  OF  CAESAR. 


211 


I 


Suetonius,  and  still  more  distinctly  the  few  words  chap.  v. 
of  the  Epitome  of  Livy,  place  the  site  of  the 
burnins:  of  the  bodv  before  the  Rostra.^'*  The 
attempt  to  reconcile  these  statements  has  occa- 
sioned no  slight  confusion,  and  some  antiquaries 
have  concluded  that  the  Rostra  Julia  had  an 
existence  prior  to  that  of  the  Temple  of  Julius, 
and  that  the  funeral  of  Caesar  took  jdace  before  Not  hcfore 

1  -r»  rrM  •  i         •  •  ^^'^  Rostra 

those  Rostra.  Ihere  is  no  authority  for  such  Julia. 
a  supposition.  At  all  periods  of  their  history, 
both  before  and  after  their  removal  from  the  Co- 
mitium,  })oth  ])efore  and  after  the  l)uilding  of  the 
Tem])le  of  Julius,  the  Rostra  are  always  in  Roman 
authors  a  distinct  monument,  sufficiently  desig- 
nated l)y  the  name  of  Rostra  alone.  The  Rostra, 
says  Asconius,  writing  in  the  age  of  Augustus, 
were  not  formerly  where  they  are  now.  The 
Bema,  says  Dio,  writing  in  the  time  of  Severus, 
was  removed,  in  the  last  year  of  Caesar\s  dictator- 
shi]),  to  where  it  is  now.'^  Had  there  been  more 
than  one  monument  to  which  the  simple  term 
Rostra  would  apply,  these  writers  would  not  have 
so  expressed  themselves.  On  the  other  hand  the 
platform  of  the  Temple  of  Julius,  though  its  use 
as  a  suggest um  is  occasionally  mentioned,  is 
generally  described  by  reference  to  the  temple.'^ 


574 


Caesaris  corpus,  (juuni  in  campum  Martium  ferretur,  a  plebe 
ante  Rostra  crematum  est.     Liv.  Epit.  116. 

■*  Ascon.adCic.proMil.5.  (Note551);  DioCass.xliii.49.  (Note553). 

"  Pro  aede  divi  luli.  Sueton.  Aug.  100  (Note 583);  ^tti  r«.~  'XovXiov 
iipipov.     Dio  Cas.«^.  liv.  35.  (Note  578.) 

1>  t> 


212 


THE  ROMAN  FORUM. 


Public 
funerals  at 
the  Rostra. 


CHAT.  V.  In  one  passage  only,  Dio,  after  having  first  men- 
tioned the  j)iiblic  Rostra,  speaks  of  this  platform 
as  the  other,  or  Julian,  Rostra.'"^"  It  is  plain  that 
no  Roman  author  in  using  the  simple  word  Rostra 
would  intend  any  other  than  the  public  Rostra. 
It  seems,  moreover,  to  have  been  thought  essen- 
tial that  on  the  occasion  of  a  public  funeral  some 
part  at  least  of  the  ceremony  should  take  ])lace  at 
tlie  j)ublic  Rostra.  This  is  most  distinctly  shown 
bv  Dio's  account  of  the  funeral  ofOctavia.the  sister 
of  Au2:ustus.  '  The  bier  was  on  that  occasion 
placed  upon  the  terrace  of  the  Temple  of  Julius, 
and  Augustus  pronounced  the  funeral  oration 
from  thence,  but  Drusus,  because  the  funeral  was 
a  pul)lic  one,  made  his  appearance  upon  the 
Rostra.^  So  at  the  funeral  of  Drusus  himself, 
though  Augustus  pronounced  the  funeral  oration 
in  the  Flaminian  Circus,  the  body  was  brought 
into  the  Forum,  and  Til)erius  delivered  another 
laudation  there.^  At  Augustus's  own  funeral, 
Tiberius  pronounced  a  laudation  at  the  Rostra 
Julia,  Imt  the  bier  was  placed  upon  tlie  pu])lic 
Rostra,  from  which  Drusus,  the  son  of  the  new 
emperor,  read  a  funeral  speecli."" 

'^"  DioCass.  Ivi.  34.  (Note  580.) 

"  Tz/r  'OKranviav  Tijv  d^e\^i)v  diroOavoixrav  npo'iOeTO  itri  tov  '\ov\iov 
tipi^ov  .  .  .  Kcti  avTO^  re  Uel  tov  firiTd(l)iov  elnev,  Kai  6  ApovtroQ  tTri  tov 
l3f)fiaTog  (^ciji^ioffiov  yap  to  jrsi'Oog)   .  .  .  tyh'fTo.     Dio  Cass.  liv.  35. 

"  Dio  Cass.  liv.  35. 

«"  Bifariam  laudatus  est,  pro  aede  divi  lull  a  Tibcrio,  et  pro  Rostris 
veteribus  a  Druso  Tiberi  filio.     Sueton.  Aujr.  100. 

TlpoTfOeicrifi:  ^t  Ttjt;  KXiviji'  ^tti  tov  ^ijfii^yoniKOv  f^i'ifiaTOi;^  otto  fxtv  tKeivov 


POSITION  OF  TUE  ROSTRA. 


213 


h 


Tliere  cannot  therefore  be  a  doubt  that  the  c:hap.  \. 
funeral  ceremony  of  Julius  took  place  at  the 
]nil)lic  Rostra  ;  and,  as  we  know  from  Dio  that 
these  were  placed  in  the  year  preceding  Caesar's 
death  in  the  same  situation  Avhich  tliev  continued 
to  occupy  more  than  two  centuries  later,  their 
site  cannot  have  been  that  of  the  subsequent 
Rostra  Julia. 

Another  theory  has  supposed  that  the  Rostra,  Position  of 

i  1     •  1  .  ,  ,  ,  the  liostra. 

on  their  removal,  b.c.  44,  Avere  placed  between 

the  Temple  of  Castor  and  the  Regia,  or  some- 

wliere  at  the  soutli-eastern   end  of  the  Forum.'^^ 

Tliis  supposition  serves  to  reconcile   in   a  very 

simple  way  the  diverging  statements  of  Appian 

and  Livy's  epitomist  as  to  the  site  of  the  burning 

of  Caesar's    body,  l)ut   has  no  other  ground  to 

support  it.     The  recent  exploration  of  this  part 

of  the  Forum  shows  an  absolute  want  of  room  on 

the  proposed  site  for  sucli  a  monument,  whicli  we 

must  remember  remained  wherever  it  was  then 

placed  long  after  the  building  of  the  Temple  of 

Julius.     On  the  other  hand,  the  discovery  of  the 

sculptures  on  Trajan's  monument  has  served  to 

fix   the  site  of  tlie  Rostra  of   his  day,  and  the 

association  of  the  Rostra   represented   in    those 

6  Apovffog  Ti  dv^yvor  dnb  ci  twv  h'tpwr  ^fijioKojv  twv  'lovXnoi'  6T,f3ipiog 
cnfioffiov  ^,)  Tiva  KUTU  cdyfia  \6yov  tv'  avT^p  Toiovce  IweX^'^uTo.  Dio 
Cass.  Ivi.  34. 

»»  Dyer,  in  Smith's  Diet.  Geog.  ii.  792  ;  Burn,  Rome  and  the  Cani- 
pagna,  p.  82. 


214 


THE  ROMAN  FORUM. 


CHAP.  V.  sculptures  with  the  statue  of  Marsyas  identifies 
them  with  the  Rostra  used  l)y  Augustus  and 
familiar  to  Horace/^^  We  cannot  doubt  that  the 
Rostra  so  identified  were  the  Rostra  removed 
l)efore  Caesar's  death,  which,  according  to  the 
evidence  of  Dio,  remained  on  the  spot  Avhere  they 
were  then  reconstructed  until  his  own  day. 

Site  of  the       With  respect  to  the  circumstances  of  Caesar's 

l)urniii<^  of 

Caesar's      funeral,  we  may  conclude  the  facts  to  have  been 

botiv, 

these.  The  ceremony  undoubtedly  commenced 
at  the  Rostra;  but  the  space  immediately  in  front 
of  this  monument  did  not  oflfer  a  convenient  site 
for  the  cremation.  We  have  seen  that  the  time- 
honoured  statue  of  Marsyas,  and  the  Lake  of 
Curtius,  a  spot  held  in  popular  reverence,  were 
near  the  Rostra  and  in  front  of  them.  Other 
statues  adorned  the  area  around  them.^  A  wider 
space  would  naturally  be  sought;  and  probably  the 
most  open  area  in  the  whole  Forum,  before  the  erec- 
tion of  the  Temple  of  Julius,  was  that  which  lay 
in  front  of  the  Temple  of  Castor  and  the  Regia. 
In  this  part  of  the  Forum  Caesar  himself  had 
held  the  assembly  at  which  he  passed  his 
Agrarian  Law,  when  the  terrace  of  the  Temple 
of  Castor  served  the  purpose  of  Rostra.^  Here 
therefore,  before  the  house  which  he  had  so  long 

»2   Seneca,  de  benef.  vi.  32.  (Note  561);  Her.  Sat.  i.  6,   120; 
Schol.  ad  Her.  ib.  (Note  163.)     See  before,  p.  71. 
3  See  before,  pp.  86-89,  203-4. 
*  Sec  before,  pp.  103-4. 


DESTRUCTION  OF  THE  OLD  ROSTRA. 


215 


1' 


inhabited,  in  the  part  of  the  Forum  associated  chap.  v. 
with  his  political  triumphs,  the  people  burned  the 
body  of  their  idol.-  The  expression  in  the  Epitome - 
of  Livy ,  that  the  body  w^as  burnt  before  the  Rostra, 
if  it  be  not  taken  to  refer  to  the  funeral  ceremony 
in  general  rather  than  to  the  actual  cremation, 
must  1)0  understood  in  a  somewhat  liberal  sense. 
The  spot  chosen  was  not  immediately  in  front  of 
the  Rostra,  but  was  probably  the  nearest  con- 
venient position  within  sight  of  them. 

It  has  been  thought  ])y  some  writers  that  after  oid  Rostra 
the  establishment  of  the  new  Rostra,  in  the  time  exisT,V.c. 
of  Caesar,  the  old  Rostra  of  the  Comitium  still  ^^' 
remained,  and  that  they  continued  to  exist  till  a 
late  period  of  Roman  history.  This  supposition 
has  no  support  from  any  ancient  authority,  and  is 
inconsistent  with  the  evidence  of  Asconius  and 
Dio.  The  former  describes  the  old  Rostra  com- 
pletely as  a  thing  of  the  past—"  they  were  not 
where  they  now  are,  but  at  the  Comitium;"  the 
latter  seems  scarcely  to  know  where  the  Rostra 
formerly  were — ''  somewhere  in  the  middle  of  the 
Forum."'''  There  can  l)e  little  doubt  that  their 
removal,  however  justified  by  other  reasons  of 
convenience  or  policy,  was  connected  with  the 
plan  for  the  re -arrangement  of  this  part  of  the 
Forum  upon  the  construction  of  the  new  Curia. 
For  nearly  two  centuries  after  this  period  there  is 


585 


Sec  pp.  202,  203. 


216 


CHAP.  V. 


Later  Ros- 
tra on  the 
Comitiun] , 


Three  Ros- 
tra in  the 
time  of 
Constan- 
tine. 


I 

I' 


THE  ROMAN  FOllUM. 

no  mention  in  ancient  autliors  of  any  existing 
Rostra  upon  the  Comitium  or  at  the  north-western 
end  of  the  Forum. 

It  is  another  question,  whether  there  is  reason 
to  believe  that  some  Kostra  existed  at  the  Capi- 
toline  end  of  the  Forum  in  Lite  imperial  times. 
The  earliest  and  most  distinct  indication  of  this  is 
conveyed  by  an  expression  of  Fronto  in  one  of  his 
letters  to  the  emperor  M.  Aurelius,  where  he  com- 
pares a  trifling  sujieriority  in  oratorical  skill  to 
the  slight  elevation  of  the  Rostra  above  the  Forum 
and  Comitium,'^'  —  an  expression  which  is  more 
easily  understood  if  we  assume  that  there  were 
some  Rostra  existing  at  that  time  on  the  Comi- 
tium, though  it  may  possibly  be  a  learned  allusion 
to  the  Rostra  of  history.     If  we  suppose  that  new 
Rostra  were  erected  upon  the  Comitium  in  the 
reign  of  Hadrian   or  of  the  Antonines,  it  would 
account  for  the  mention  in  the  Curiosum  of  three 
Rostra  in  the  Forum.^     The  curved  teiTace  near 
the  Arch  of  Severus  was  supposed  by  Canina  to 
be  the  remains  of  Rostra,  but  this  identification 
has  been  already  rejected.'    Mr.  Hemans  observed 
in  the  face  of  a  wall  under  the  modern  road  in 
front    of  this  terrace  some  marks  which  might 
well  have  been  left  by  the  insertion  and  removal 
of  solid  metal  ornaments,  such  as  the  beaks  of 

*««  Fronto  ad  Antonin.  i.  2.  (Noto  386.) 
"  Reg.  VIII.     See  Appendix. 
«  See  before,  pp.  20,  185. 


STATUES  7.V  ROSTIilS. 


217 


V 


f 


ships.^^^     The  Jurist  Pomponius,  who  appears  to  chap.  v. 
have  written  in  the  second  century,  speaks  of  the  i\o^ 
Rostra  of  the  Forum  as  Rostra  Augusti,^  a  name  ^''^'''*'' 
which  may  possibly  have  been  used  to  distinguish 
this  old  i)latform  with  its  Augustan  associations 
from  some  newer  Rostra  on  the  Comitium. 

The  immediate  neighbourhood  of  the  Rostra,  statues /» 
both  when  they  stood  on  the  Comitium,  and  in 
their  newer  site  on  the  Forum,  was  a  favourite 
position  for  honorary  statues.  Such  statues  w^ere 
said  to  be  placed  in  Rostrts,  which  a])pears  to 
mean,  not  upon  the  Rostra,  but  at  the  Rostra, 
that  is,  probably,  in  front  or  at  the  side  of  them." 
Several  examples  of  such  statues  have  been  men- 
tioned in  the  present  Chapter,  and  in  the  Chapter 
on  the  Mid  Forum.^ 

*»<*  Ilemans,  Historic  Rome,  p.  220. 

»  Hie  (Servius)  cum  in  logatione  perisset,  statuam  ei  populus 
Romanus  pro  Rostris  posuit,  et  hodieque  extat  pro  Rostris  Augusti. 
Romponius  in  Dig.  lib.  I.  tit.  ii.  2,  sect.  43.  The  jurist  is  speaking  of 
the  statue  of  Servius  Sulpicius,  which  was  placed  at  the  Rostra  by 
the  proposal  of  Cicero,  b.c.  43,  when  no  other  Rostra  existed  but 
those  of  the  Forum.     See  before,  p.  87. 

2  Compare  the  passage  of  Pomponius,  cited  in  the  last  note,  with 
Cic.  Phil.  ix.  7.  (Note  197.)  So  the  Marsyas  is  said  to  have  been  in 
Rostris  and  pro  Rostris.  (Xote  163.)  Niebuhr  seems  to  have  thought 
that  the  statues  were  placed  upon  the  Rostra.  (Hist.  Rom.  Eng.  ed. 
vol.  iii.  p.  145,  note  268.)  But  when  we  consider  their  multkude, 
and  that  some  of  them  were  equestrian,  this  opinion  can  scarcely  be 
maintained. 

^  See  pp.  86-89. 


BASILICA  PORCIA. 


219 


i 


CHAP. 
VI. 


Basilica 
Porcia. 


Atria, 
Maeninm 
et  Titium. 

Story  of 
Maenius 
reserving  a 
column. 


CILVrTER  VI. 

THE  NORTH-EASTERN  SIDE  OF  THE  MID  FORUM. 

In  a  former  chapter  the  ruins  of  the  Mid  Forum 
have  been  described,  so  far  as  they  have  been 
uncovered  hy  excavation.  But  its  north-eastern 
side  still  remains  buried,  and  consequently  some 
of  the  most  imj^ortant  monuments  of  this  part  of 
Rome  are  known  to  us  only  by  the  writings  of 
ancient  authors. 

Proceeding  from  the  Comitium  and  Curia,  the 
first  building  on  this  side  of  the  Forum  in  the 
time  of  the  Republic  was  the  Basilica  Porcia. 
This  edifice,  the  earliest  basilica  of  Rome,  was 
built  by  the  elder  Cato,  B.C.  184.  Livy  tells  us, 
that  two  atj^ia  called  Maenium  and  Titium  in 
the  Lautumiae,  and  four  tabernae,  were  purchased 
for  its  site.^^'  The  story,  told  by  a  commentator 
on  Cicero,  of  Maenius,  the  proprietor  of  one  of 
the  houses,  reserving  a  column  with  the  right  to 
erect  an  awning  over  it,  for  a  seat  at  the  oladia- 
torial  shows  of  the  Forum,^  is  evidently  a  blunder, 

*"*  Cato  atria  duo,  Maenium  et  Titium,  in  Lautumiis,  et  quatuor 
tabernas  in  publicum  emit,  basilicamque  ibi  fecit  quae  Porcia  appel- 
lata  est.     Liv.  xxxix.  44. 

■■'  Maenius  cum  domum  suum  venderetCatoni  et  Flacco  ceusoribus, 


arising  out  of  a  double  confusion  of  the  Atrium 
of  Maenius  with  the  Columna  Maenia,  and  with 
the  Maeniana  or  covered  ])alcoiiies  of  the  Taber- 
nae.^^^  Plutarch  places  the  basilica  by  the  side  of 
the  Forum  under  the  Curia:'  and  it  appears  from 
the  statement  of  an  author  who  w^rote  about  a 
century  after  the  destruction  of  the  Curia  Hos- 
tilia  that  the  basilica  either  adjoined  it,  or  was 
connected  with  it  by  some  other  building.^ 

Two  of  the  plays  of  Plautus  contain  allusions 
to  a  basilica,  but  as  the  poet  died  in  the  year  of 
Cato's  censorship,^  and  no  earlier  basilica  existed, 
it  has  l)een  supposed  that  these  passages  are  addi- 
tions inserted  in  the  text  after  the  author's  death.^^ 


ut  ibi  basilica  aedificaretur,  exceperat  ius  sibi  unius  columnae  super 
quam  tectum  proiiceret  ex  provolantibus  tabulatis,  unde  ipse  et 
posteri  eius  spectare  munus  gladiatorum  possent,  quod  etiam  turn  in 
foro  dabatur.  Ex  illo  if^itur  Columna  Maenia  vocitata  est.  Pseudo- 
Asconius  ad  Cic.  in  Caec.  div.  16. 

59«  See  pp.  55,  172. 

^  Tr/c  fiamXiictiQ  ...  i)v  tKelvoQ  tK  xpHM''"^'*^  koivujv  iiyrb  to  /3ou\ei»r//- 
f)iov  ry  dyof)<^  rraptfiaXt  Kai  UopKiav  ^aaCKiKijV  Trponeyopevffe.  lUutarcli. 
Cat.  maior.  19. 

*  Quo  igne  et  ipsa  quoque  Curia  flagravit,  et  item  Porcia  basilica, 
quae  erat  ei  iuncta,  ambusta  est.  Asconius,  arg.  ad  Cic.  pro  Mil. 
(Note  533  ) 

®  Nam  Plautus  P.  Claudio  L.  Porcio,  viglnti  annis  post  illos  quos 
dixi  consules,  mortuus  est,  Catone  censore.     Cic.  Brut.  15. 

t^'  Tum  piscatores,  qui  praebent  populo  pisces  foetidos, 

Qui  adveliuntur  quadrupedanti  crucianti  canterio. 
Quorum  odos  subbasilicanos  omnes  abigit  in  forum, 
Eis  ego  era  verberabo  sirpiculis  piscariis, 
Ut  sciant  alieno  naso  quam  exhibeant  molestiam. 

Plnut.  Capteivei,  Act.  iv.  sc.  2,  33.  Id.  Curculio,  Act.  iv.  so.  1. 
11.  (Note  97.) 


CHAP. 
VI. 


Position 
of  the 
Basilica 
Porcia. 


220 


CHAP. 
VI. 

Forum 
Pisca- 
torium. 


Burning 
of  the 
Basilica 
Porcia. 


THE  ROMAN  FOUUM. 

One  of  them  describes  the  frequenters  of  the  basi- 
lica being  driven  into  the  Forum  by  the  smell  of 
bad  fish.  This  passage  appears  to  show  the  prox- 
imity of  the  fish-market  to  the  basilica.  That  the 
ancient  Forum  Piscatorium  lav  to  the  north-east 
of  the  Forum  Roman um  appears  jirobable,  when 
we  read  in  Livv  that  the  o-reat  fire  which  occurred 
in  the  Roman  Forum,  B.C.  210,  extended  to  theLau- 
tumiae,  the  Forum  Piscatorium,  and  the  Atrium 
Regium.^^^  The  Forum  Piscatorium  was  sur- 
rounded with  new  shops  at  tlie  time  of  the  build- 
ing of  the  Fulvian  basilica.^  Its  area  was  probably 
absorbed  in  later  times  by  the  Forum  of  Caesar. 

The  fire  wliich  destrojed  the  Curia  Hostilia 
extended  to  the  Basilica  Porcia  ;  but  whether 
it  was  entirely  burnt  down,  or  only  injured,  does 
not  appear.^  No  subsequent  mention  of  it  is 
found.  At  the  time  of  the  restoration  of  this  part 
of  the  Forum  a  memorial  of  the  Catones  was  not 
likely  to  be  restored  in  its  original  name.  Even 
before  its  destruction,  some  part  of  the  building- 
appears  to  have  been  thought  in  the  way  ;  since 
we  learn  from  Plutarch  that  the  younger  Cato  was 
forced  into  public  life  by  his  anxiety  to  protect 
this  monument  of  his  flimilv  from  an  alteration 
proposed  by  the  tribunes,  who  used  this  locality 
for  the  transaction  of  their  business,  probably  on 

«•"  Liv.  xxvi.  27.  (Note  135.) 

-  Liv.  xl.  51.  (Note  641.) 

'  Asconius,  arg.  ad.  Cic.  pro  Mil.  (Note  598.) 


vl 


SITE  OF  THE  BASILICA  PORCIA. 

account  of  its  i)roxiniity  both  to  the  Curia  and 
the  Rostra.*^'"*  But,  if  the  Basilica  Porcia  was  not 
rebuilt,  its  site,  or  the  principal  part  of  it,  was 
doubtless  employed  for  some  other  edifice.  The 
Curia,  as  rebuilt  by  Augustus,  had  a  structure 
attached  to  it  called  the  Chalcidicum,  and  it  is 
not  improl)able  that  room  for  this  building  was 
found  on  the  site  of  the  Basilica  Porcia.'* 

If  we  have  been  right  in  placing  the  Curia 
where  the  church  of  Sta  Martina  now  stands,  the 
Basilica  Porcia,  and  the  building  which  replaced 
it,  must  have  occupied  the  position  now  held  by 
the  church  of  S.  Adriano.  This  church  was 
built  by  Pope  Honorius  I.  about  the  year  a.d.  G30, 
that  is,  only  about  twenty  years  later  than  the 
erection  of  the  Column  of  Phocas.  But,  though 
the  column  stands  on  the  low  level  of  the  ancient 
Forum,  the  church  is  on  the  level  of  the  modern 
street,  some  fifteen  or  twenty  feet  higher.  This 
contrast  suggests  the  probability  that  the  church 
occupies  the  site  of  some  ancient  building  raised 
vipon  an  elevated  podium,  and  that  the  level 
around  has  risen  to  the  height  of  the  top  of  the 
podium.''  AVe  liave  seen  that  the  Curia  was  raised 


221 


CHAP. 
VI. 


Chalci- 
dicum. 


Site  of  the 

Basilica 

Porcia. 


Church  of 
S. Adriano. 


Contrast  of 
level  with 
the  Phocas 
column. 


604 


'H  H  KaXovfii-vii  UopKia  i^amXiKi)  TifiijriKup  i)v  livaOijfia  tov  TraXaiov 
KaTiovog.  EtioGoreQ  ovv  tKel  x^/;/irtrtl'etv  oi  St'jfiapxot,  Kfti  kiovoc  to7q 
Si<ppoiQ  tfiTTOCiov  ^oKovvror,  tyvioaav  v<pe\e7p  avriv  if  fiiTaffTtjiTat.  Plu- 
tarch. Cat.  Min.  5.    See  before,  pp.  1G9,  197,  200. 

*  See  before,  p.  186. 

"  The  ground  had  formerly  risen  still  higher,  ibr  in  Du  Perac's 


r  n  liiiftiftiiTi  HMiifiilrri'tiiiiMhrtiii^^ 


222 


CHAP. 
VI 

Chjilci- 
dicum. 


Inscrip- 
tion at  S. 
Adriano, 
rclatin^^  to 
a  basilica. 


Basilica 

Arircn- 

taria. 


THE  ROMAN  FORUM. 

by  a  flight  of  steps  above  the  Comitium.  If  tlie 
Chalcidiciim  connected  with  it  was  here  placed, 
upon  what  was  probably  a  lower  part  of  the 
Forum,  it  would  require  a  considerable  artificial 
elevation. 

Under  the  pavement  of  S.  Adriano  is  said  to 
have  been  found  in  1655  a  marl)le  pedestal,  with 
an  inscription  referring  to  a  statue  placed  in  a 
basilica  by  Galiinius  Vettius  Probianus,  Prae- 
fectus  Urbi.'*''  The  inscription  is  very  similar  to 
another  found  near  the  Phocas  column,  and  re- 
lating to  a  statue  placed  by  the  same  magistrate 
in  the  Basilica  Julia  during  the  consulate  of  An- 
nulinus  and  Fronto,  a.d.  1U9.'  If  the  inscription 
found  under  S.  Adriano  was  in  situ,  we  must  con- 
clude that  the  ground  was  occupied  by  a  basilica 
during  the  reign  of  Severus. 

Assuming  upon  this  evidence  that  a  basilica 
existed  here  in  imperial  times,  some  antiquaries 
have  supposed  that  they  have  found  the  site  of 
the  Basilica  Argentaria  of  the  Curiosum  and 
Notitia,  which  is  there  mentioned  after  the  im- 
perial Fora  and  before  the  Temple  of  Concord.' 

views,  about  1585,  the  church  is  entered  by  steps  which  descend 
from  the  outer  level. 

•'«■    GAVINIVS    .    VETTIVS  .  PROBIANVS      VX.  PRAEF  .  VRB  .  STATVAM   . 
CONLOCARI    .    PRAECEPIT    .    QVAE    .    ORNAMENTO    .    BASILICAE    .    ESSE 

POSSET  .  iNLVSTRi.  Romac  in  basi  marmorea.  Grutero  Sirmondus 
qui  vidit.  Gruter.  MLxxx.  11.  Gualdo  de  Lap.  Sepulch.  (Nardini, 
Horn.  Ant.  ed  Nibby,  ii.  228. 

*  See  before,  p.  43,  Note  102. 

"  Reg.  VIII.     See  Appx.     Burn,  Rome  and  the  Campagna  p.  83. 


BASILICA  ARGENTARIA. 


223 


k 


I 


'I 


But  there  seems  to  be  some  reason  to  tliink  tliat     chap. 
the  Basilica  Argentaria  lay  between  the  imperial       — 
Fora  and    the    street  leading  from  the  tomb  of 
Bi])ulus  to  the  Prison.     The  street  appears  in  the 
Middle  Ages  to  have  been  called  Clivus  Ar^ren- 
tarius,  and   to  have  had  on  its  eastern  side  an 
insula  Argentaria,  which    may    be   supposed  to 
mark  the    site  of  the  basilica.'^"      This  locality 
seems   to  range  better  with  the  order  in  which 
the  various  monuments  are  named  in  the  Xotitia. 

The  situation  of  the  celebrated  Janus  in  front  .lanus 
of  the  Curia  has  l)een  already  mentioned.     The  ^'""""' 
foundation    of  this   monument  is   attributed    by 
Livy  to  Xuma   and  l)y  other  autliors  to  Piomulus 
and  Tatius.'     Varro  calls  it  the  Porta  Janualis, 

«'•'  Ascendit  sub  arcu  Manus  carneaeper  clivium  {sic)  argentariuni 
inter  insulam  eiusdem  nominis  et  Capitolium,  descendit  °ante  pri- 
vatam  Mamertlni.  Ordo  Rom.  a.d.  1143,  Mabill.  Mus.  Ital.  ii. 
143.  (Becker,  Handbuch,  i.  413.)  In  clivo  argentarli  templum  Con- 
cordiae  et  Saturni.  In  insula  [in  Tolusa  Montf.-\  templum  Bacclii, 
in  fme  huius  insulae  argentariae  templum  Vespasiani.  Mirab.  Rom! 
Montf.  Diar.  Ital.  p.  29a.  It  may  be  observed  that  in  the  first  and' 
most  trustworthy  of  these  extracts  the  insula  argentaria  is  placed 
on  the  ascent  of  the  hill  in  the  Via  Maiforio,  before  descending  to 
the  prison.  In  the  latter  it  is  brought  as  far  down  as  the  tempfe  of 
Vespasian. 

•  lanum  ad  infimum  Argiletum  indicem  pads  bellique  fecit ;  aper- 
tus,  ut  in  armis  esse  civitatem,  clausus,  pacat(»s  circa  omnes  populos 
significaret.  Bis  deinde  post  Nuroae  regnum  clausus  fuit:  seniel 
T.  Manho  consule  post  Punicum  primum  perfectum  bellum,  iterum 
quod  nostrae  aetati  dii  dederunt  ut  videremus,  post  bellum  Actiacum 
ab  imperatore  Caesare  Augusto,  pace  terra  marique  parta.   Liv.  i.  J9. 

2  Huius  autem  aperiendi  vel  claudendi  templi  ratio  varia  est:  alii 
dicunt  Romulo  contra  Sabinos  pugnante,  quum  in  eo  esset  ut  vin- 


224 


CHAP. 
VI. 


Lcjjcnd  of 
the  sul- 
phureous 
spring. 


THE  ROMAN  FORUM. 

and  mentions  it  as  one  of  the  ancient  gates 
which  were  in  liis  time  within  the  walls.^^^  The 
original  gateway  may  possi])ly  have  been  in  the 
h*ne  of  some  early  fortification  uniting  the  Capitol 
witli  the  Palatine,  but  there  is  no  other  evidence 
of  this.  An  ancient  legend  associated  it  with  the 
war  between  the  Romans  and  Sabines,  when  the 
god  Janus  was  said  to  have  driven  back  the  in- 
vaders from  the  gate  by  an  outburst  of  suli)hu- 
reous  water.*    The  story  is  told  by  Macrol)ius  of 

ceretur,  calidam  aqunm  ex  eodem  loco  ei;upisse,  quae  fugavit  exer- 
citum  Sabinorum.  Ilinc  ergo  tractum  morem,  ut  pugnaturi  aperi- 
rent  templum  quod  in  co  loco  fuerat  constitutum,  quasi  ad  spem  auxilii 
pristini.  Alii  dicunt  Tatium  et  Romuluin  facto  foedere  lani  templum 
aedificasse,  unde  et  Tanus  ipse  duas  facies  habet,  quasi  ut  ostendat 
duorum  regum  coitionem.  Serv.  ad  Aen.  i.  291.  Id.  ad  Aen.  xii.  198. 
^'^  Tertia  (porta)  est  Tanualis  dicta  a  lano,  et  ideo  ibi  positum  lani 
signum,  et  ius  institutum  a  Pompilio,  ut  sciibit  in  Annalibus  Piso, 
ut  sit  aperta  semper  nisi  quom  bellum  sit  nusquam.  Varro,  L.  L.  v. 
'U(46). 

*  Cum  tot  sint  iani,  cur  stas  sacratus  in  uno 

Hie  ubi  iuncta  foris  templa  duobus  habes  ? 
Hie,  manu  raulcens  propexam  ad  pectora  barbam, 

Protinus  Oebalii  rettulit  arma  Tati, 
Utque  levis  custos  armillis  capta  Sabinis 
Ad  summae  tacitos  duxerit  arcis  iter. 
Inde,  velut  nunc  est,  per  quem  descenditis,  inquit, 

Arduus  in  valles  et  fora  clivus  erat ; 
Et  iam  contigerat  portani,  Saturnia  cuius 

Dempserat  oppositas  insidiosa  seras. 
Cum  tanto  veritus  committere  numine  pugnam, 

Ipse  meae  movi  callidus  artis  opus, 
Oraque,  qua  pollens  ope  sum,  fontanareclusi, 

Sumque  repentinas  eiaculatus  aquas  ; 
Ante  tanien  gelidis  subieci  sulphura  venis, 
Clauderet  ut  Tatio  fervidus  humor  iter. 


" 


TEMPLE  OF  JANT^S. 

a  gate  under  the  Viminal  Hill,  which,  he  says, 
was  thence  called  Janualis  ;'''  but  Ovid,  who 
mixes  up  this  legend  with  tJiat  of  the  treason  of 
Tarpeia,  places  the  scene  at  the  l)ott()m  of  tlie 
steep  slope  wliich  led  from  the  Arx  to  the  Forum. 
The  monument  com])rised  a  j)assage-wav  or 
iamis,  and  a  small  temple  in  or  at  the  side  of  it. 
That  it  had  this  double  character  is  shown  ])v  the 
(piestion  addressed  by  Ovid  to  the  god  : 

Cnm  tot  sint  iani,  ciir  stas  sacratus  in  uno 
Hie  ubi  iuncta  foris  templa  duobus  habes  !" 

and   still   more   distinctly  by   tlie   description    of 
Martial  : 

Pervius  exiguos  habitabas  ante  Penates, 
Plurinia  qua  medium  Roma  terebat  iter.  ? 

In  the  Forum  in  front  of  the  temple  stood  an 

Cuius  ut  utilitas  pulsis  percepta  Sabinis, 

Quae  fuerat,  tuto  reddita  forma  loco  est, 
Ara  mihi  posita  est  parvo  coniuncta  sacello; 
Ilaec  adolet  flammis  cum  strue  farra  suis. 
Ovid  Fast.  i.  257.     Serv.  ad  Aen.  i.  291,  xii.  198.    (Note  G12.) 
•"*  Quum  bello  Sabino,  quod  virginum  raptarum  gratia  connnissum 
est,  Romani  portam  quae  sub  radicibus  collis  Viminalis  erat,  quae 
postea  ex  eventu  lanualis  vocata  est,  claudere  fcstinarent,  quia  in 
ipsam  hostes  ruebant,  postquam  est  clausa,  mox  sponte  patefacta  est ; 
cumque  iterum  ac  tertio  idem  contigisset  .  .  .  cunique  Sabini    per 
portam    patentem    irrupturi  essent,   fertur   ex    aede   Iani   per  hanc 
portam  magnam  vim   torrentium  undis  scatentil>us  erupisse  .  .  .  ea 
re  placitum  ut  belli  tempore,  velut  ad  urbis  auxilium  profecto  deo, 
fores  reserarentur.    Macrob.  Sat.  i.  9.     It  is  remarkable  that  Macro- 
bius,  while   he  places  the  Porta  Janualis   under  the  Viminal,  still 
identifies  it  with  the  Janus,  the  index  of  peace  and  war.     Becker  has 
suggested  that  this  was  the  original  site  of  the  Janus  of  Numa.    See 
further,  p.  272. 

«  Ovid.  Fasti,  i.  263  ^  Martial,  Ep.  x.  28,  4.     (Note  630.) 


225 


CHAP. 
VI. 


Janus, 
wh:it  it 
Wits. 


226 


CHAP. 
VI. 


Cell  and 
imaf^o  of 
Janus, 


THE  ROMAN  FORUM. 

altar  of  the  godf'^^  The  temple  contained  an  image, 
l)elieyed  to  have  been  dedicated  bv  Numa,  of  the 
venerable  deity  whose  worship  constituted  an  im- 
portant part  of  the  primitive  religion  of  Rome.^ 
The  square  cell,  of  bronze,  was  no  larger  ihan  suffi- 
cient to  hold  the  statue,  which  was  of  the  same 
material,  and  not  less  than  five  cubits  high.^'^  The 
god  was  represented  with  two  faces,  hence  called 
Janus  Bifrons  and  Janus  Geminus,  and  indicated 
by  the  fingers  of  his  right  hand  the  number  three 
hundred,  and  by  those  of  his  left  fifty-five, 
making  the  sum  of  the  days  of  the  year  according 
to  the  computation  then  received.  The  deit}^  was 
thus  exhibited  as  the  lord  of  time.^  One  face  of 
the  image  looked  to  the  east  and  the  other  to  the 

«"*  Ovid  Fast.  i.  275.   (Note  614);  Dio  Cass.  Ixxiii.  13.    (Note  639). 

^  Saliorum  qiioque  antiquissimis  carminibus  deorum  deus  canitur 
(lanus).    Macrob.  Sat.  i.  9. 

-"  "Kx^*  ^^  '""*'  vfujvtv  ry  ayop^  irpo  tov  fiovXevTijpiov  oXiyov  vTripf^dpTi 
TO.  rpia  (para,  ovrio  yap  'Vio/xaloi  tuq  fioipag  vevofiiKaai  KaXelv.  o  re 
veu)(j  iiTrag  x^^'^^^'Q  ^^  Terpayioviii  (T\i)ftaTi  tnrijKt:^  TO(To?Tog  i-ttv  oaov 
ayaXfia  tov  '\avov  OKhireiv.  tan  Ct  xaXKOov  ovk  tiatjov  /)  Trtfxiov  Trti'Tf  to 
dyaX/xa  tovto^  tu  fit}'  dXXa  -rraVTa  tfi(j)fptQ  avBpioir(()^  ^nrpuffioTrov  Sf  T))v 
Ke(paXi)i>  txoV    Kill    TOO   TrpocrwTTov   OaTepov   fitv   irpog    dviaxovTa,   to   H 

tTepOV  TTpOQ    ^VOVTa     ifXlOV  TiTpaTTTfU.        Ovpai    ^i    X«^'f««    t0'    tKaTiptf}  TTpO- 

aioTTij}  elffiv,  lig  vi)  iv  /xtv  eipi'ivy  Kai  dyaOolg  tTririOeffOai  to  TraXaiop 
'Pojjualot  kv6fiiL,ov.,  TToXfjiiov  Si  aipiaiu  ovTog  ai/f<px^«*-  ^Tei  Sk  to  tCjv 
XpiffTtapwv  (?oy/wa,  fiTTfjO  Tivtg  dXXoi,  'PwyuaTot  hi/JiiicTav,  TaiWag  ^^  Tag 
Gi'pag  ovk^ti  ovSi  TroXfjiovvTeg  dv'tKXivov.  dXX  tv  TavTy  h)  Ty  TToXiopKKf. 
Tivtg  Tiji'  TraXauiv  olfiai  Co^av  tv  vt^  txovTtg  tyKexeipt'iKaat  fAtv  avTitg 
avotyvvvai  XdOpa.     Procopius,  Bell.  Gotb.  i.  25. 

>  Praeterea  lanus  Geminus  a  Numa  rege  dicatus,  qui  pacis  belHque 
argumento  colitur,  digitis  ita  figuratis,  ut  trecentoruni  quinquaginta 
quinque  dierum  nota  per  significationem  anni,  temporis  et  aevi  se 
deuiu  indicaret.  Plin.  N.  H.  xxxiv.  16.  Macrobius  Sat.  i.  9  ;  Serv. 
ad  Aen,  vii.  607. 


THE  GATES  OF  WAR. 


227 


west    and  the  two  gates  of  the  cell,  which  were    chap. 
twodl  r""~"'  """'  •^"•^  1''-^''  >•»  the  same      ^ 

tune  of  peace.^  They  are  said  to  have  ),een  only 
once  closed-at  the  end  of  the  first  Pu„ic  war- 
between  the  age  of  Numa  and  that  of  Au<n,stus 
The  latter,  after  the  hattle of  Actiun,,  and!  tZ' 
subsequent  periods,  was  able  to  make  this  Z 
n«.„ent  of  the  undisputed  acceptance  of  his 

Vacuum  duellis 
lanum  Quirinum  clausit.^ 

The  language  of  Livy  and  Varro  would  lead 
to  the  supposition  that  the  dou),le  doors,  which 
were  the  inde.x  of  peace  and  war,  were  tl.;  doors 
of  a  gate.-ay  ;  but  it  is  clear,  from  what  we  read 
"  llutarch  and  Servius,  and  the  more  minute 
.lescr,pt,on  of  Procopius,  that  they  were  the  doors 

622  ^  * 

^ic  ego  prospicio  coelestis  ianitor  aulae 
Koas  partes  Hesperiasque  simul.     Ovid.  Fast,  i    1.39 
^unt  genunae  belli  portae,  sic  nomine  dicunt,  "      '  ' 

Keligione  sacrae  et  saevi  formidine  Martis- 
Centum  aerei  claudunt  vectes  aeternaque  ferri 
Robora,  nee  custos  absistit  limine  lanus. 
Ha^  ub.  certa  sedet  patribu«  sententia  pugnae, 
Jpse,  Quinnali  trabea  cinctuque  Gabino   ^ 
J"^i?nis,reseratstridentialinu-na  consul.  Virg.Aen  vii  607 
^of^^K^Tac  ydp  avt^x^a.,  ,rX.     Plutarch.  Num   20 

Liv.  i.  ,9^ (Note  611.)     Varro  L.  L.  v.  34.  (Not.  613.) 
^      Janum  Qu.nnum,  semel  atque  iterum  a  condita  urbe  ante  memo 
nan.  suam  clausan,  in  multo  breviore  temporis  spatio,  terrrmTnC; 
pace  parta,  ter  clusit.     Sueton.  in  Aug.  22.     IlcJat.  Od.  iv   Ts 

q2 


228 


CHAP. 
VI. 


Form  of 
the  Janus. 


Statue  of 
Janus. 


THE  ROMAN  FORUM. 

of  the  temple.  This  fact  goes  some  way  towards 
disposing  of  the  speculations  of  Xiebuhr  as  to  the 
reason  for  opening  and  closing  the  gates,  which 
he  connects  with  the  relations  between  the  Roman 
and  Sabine  inhabitants  of  the  early  city.  The 
popular  notion  doubtless  was,  that  the  god  ought 
to  be  free  to  assist  his  worshippers  in  w^ar.^^'^ 
Some  modern  anti({uaries  do  not  admit  the  exist- 
ence of  any  gateway  at  all.  Becker  represents 
the  open  temple  as  itself  serving  the  purpose  of  a 
passage,  and  thinks  that  the  name  of  gate,  applied 
to  it  by  Varro  and  Ovid,  may  have  arisen  from 
the  doul)le  doors  of  the  temple  being  connnonly 
called  the  Gates  of  War.'  This  sui)position 
might  seem  to  imply  that  the  announcement  of 
peace  closed  one  of  the  great  thoroughfares  of 
Rome  ; '  but  it  is  possible  tliat  the  principal  passage 
was  outside  the  Janus,  and  that  tlie  w^ay  throuo-h 
the  monument,  though  in  use,  was  not  necessary 
to  the  traffic.  The  coins  of  Augustus  and  of 
Nero,  which  represent  the  temple,  give  no  indi- 
cation of  any  arch  or  gateway  at  the  side  of  it. 

Besides  its  proper  idol,  the  Temple  of  Janus, 
small  as  it  was,  also  contained  in  the  time  of 
Pliny  a  mar])le  statue  of  the  god,  brought  from 
^c2:ypt,  and  dedicated  by  Augustus.  It  was 
doubted  whether  this  was  the  work  of  Scopas  or 

^-^^  Mticrob.  Satur.  i.  9   (Note  615);  Serv.  ad  Aen.  i.  291,  vii.610. 
(Note  612.) 

«  Becker,  Handbuch,  i.  119.         <  Mart.  Ep   x.  28.  4.  (Note  630.) 


^ 


TEMPLE  OF  JANUS. 


229 


Praxiteles,  and  Plinv  thought  that  the  dldino;,  or  chap. 
plates  of  gold^  ivith  which  it  was  covered,  made  — '- 
it  all  the  more  difficult  to  discern  the  hand  of  its 
sculptor.  He  mentions  it  among  other  examples 
of  masterpieces  the  authorship  of  w^hich  was 
unknown,  a  proof,  as  he  observes,  how  the  very 
abundance  of  statuary,  and  the  occu])ation  of 
people's  minds  with  other  matters,  made  Rome 
an  unfavourable  place  for  preserving  the  history 
of  art.''' 

After  the  general  adojition  of  Christianity  at  Janus,  in 
Rome  the  gates  of  Janus  were  closed,  without  tin"f '''' 
reference  to  peace  or  war.  while  the  idol  was 
left  undistur])ed  in  its  original  position.  We  owe 
to  this  circumstance  a  most  interestini>:  account 
of  the  temple  and  statue  by  Procopius,  who  re- 
lates that  in  the  siege  of  the  city  by  the  Goths, 
w^hen  it  was  defended  bv  Belisarius,  a.d.  537, 
some  of  the  people,  who  were  still  under  the  in- 
fluence of  the  old  superstition,  made  a  secret  at- 
tempt to  open  the  temple  and  release  the  god.^ 

Martial  has  a  hymn  to  this  deity  u]ion  the  com- 
pletion  of  the  Janus  (}uadrii'rons,  erected  by 
Domitiaii  in  the  Forum  Transitorium,  which  gives 

•"  Par  liaesitatio  est  in  temjilo  Apollinls  Sosii,  Nioben  cum  liberis 
morientein  Scopas  an  Praxiteles  fecerit ;  item  lanus  pater  in  suo 
templo  dicatus  ab  Aiigusto  ex  Aciiypto  advectus,  utrius  manus  sit, 
iani  qiiidem  et  auro  occultatus.     Plin.  N.  H.  xxxvi.  4.  (8). 

'  Frocop.  B.  Gotii.  i.  25.  (Note  620.) 


230 


THE  ROMAN  FORUM. 


SITE  OF  THE  JANUS. 


281 


CHAP. 
VI. 

Site  of  the 
Janus. 


some  interesting  particulars  respecting  the  more 
venera1)le  Janus  of  the  Forum  Romanum.^^^ 

The  position  of  this  monument  is  indicated  ])y 
the  following  marks.  It  was  in  the  Forum  Ro- 
manum,  in  front  of  the  Curia/  near  the  foot  of 
the  Capitoline  hill,^  and  not  far  from  the  Three 
Fates  f  but  at  the  same  time  it  was  at  the  bottom 
of  the  Argiletum,^  and  was  united  with  another 
Forum.^  Thus  placed,  a  great  part  of  the  traffic 
of  Rome  passed  under  its  archway.^  The  three 
Sil)yls  or  Fates  have  been  already  mentioned, 
and  their  probable  position  behind  the  Rostra 
near  the  side  of  the  Forum  has  been  discussed.' 
The  various  indications  that  have  been  mentioned 
place  the  Janus   Temple    without  doubt  on  the 

«3o  Annorum  nitidique  sator  pulcherrime  mundi, 

Publica  quern  primuin  vota  precesque  vocant, 
Pervius  exiguos  habitabas  ante  Penates, 

Plurima  qua  medium  Koma  terebat  iter. 
Nunc  tua  Caesareis  cinguntur  limina  donis, 
Et  fora  tot  numeras,  lane,  quot  ora  geris. 
At  tu,  sancte  pater,  tanto  pro  munere  gratus, 
Ferrea  perpetua  claustra  tuere  sera. 

Mart.  Ep.  x.  28. 
'  Primus  interrogatur  sententiam  lanus  pater  . . .  quantumvis  vafer, 
qui  semper  videt   lifxa    irpomo  kuI   ottiVw.      Is    multa  diserte,  quod 
in  foro  vivat,  dixit.     Seneca,  Apocolocyntosis.     Dio  Cass.  Ixxiii.  13. 
(Note  639).     Procop.  Bell  Goth.  i.  25.  (Note  620.) 

2  Ovid.  Fast.  i.  263.  (Note  614  ) 

3  Procopius  Bell.  Goth  i.  25    (Note  620.) 
♦  Liv.  i.  19.  (Note  611  ) 

5  Ovid.  Fast.  i.  257.  (Note  614.) 
«  Mart.  Ep  x.  28,  4.  (Note  630.) 
'  See  before,  p.  79. 


I 
I 


north-eastern  side  of  the  Forum  Romanum,  at 
the  end  of  a  street  communicatini>:  in  the  first 
place  l)etween  the  Forum  Romanum  and  another 
Forum  in  its  immediate  vicinity,  and  beyond 
that  with  some  of  the  most  frequented  parts  of 
Rome. 

The  Basilica  Porcia  was  also  on  the  north- 
eastern side  of  the  Forum  in  front  of  the  Curia, 
which  it  eitlier  adjoined,  or  was  connected  with  it 
by  some  intermediate  l)uilding.  The  Janus, 
therefore,  beino;  at  the  end  of  a  street  leadinir 
from  the  Forum,  must  have  l)een  further  from 
the  Curia  than  the  Basilica.  We  cannot  be  far 
wrong  in  placing  it  near  the  soutli  corner  of  tlie 
church  of  S.  Adriano,  which,  as  we  have  seen, 
was  proba])ly  ])uilt  on  tlie  site  of  the  Basilica 
Rorcia,  or  the  edifice  which  replaced  it.^^^  A  street 
running  from  this  point  in  the  direction  of  the 
Suburra,  to  which  the  Argiletum  extended,  Avould 
lie  in  a  direction  not  much  north  of  east ;  so  that 
the  cell  of  Janus  at  the  l)ottom  of  it,  which  is 
described  as  facins;  the  risins^  and  setting:  sun, 

8*"'  See  before,  pp.  186,  221.  Labacco,  an  architect  of  the  sixteenth 
century,  states  that  there  had  existed  at  S.  Adriano.  to  the  left,  in  the 
direction  of  the  Temple  of  Faustina, — quivi  (a  S.  Adriano)  da  man 
sinistra  verso  il  tempio  di  Antonino  e  Faustina, — a  square  building, 
aj)parently  antique,  of  which  he  i^ives  full  architectural  details.  This 
building,  if  his  details  are  to  be  trusted,  which  appears  doubtful,  did 
not  agree  with  what  we  might  expect  the  Temple  of  Janus  to  be,  in- 
asmuch ns  it  is  represented  with  only  one  doorway.  He  does  not 
state  at  what  level  it  stood.  Labacco,  Architettura  (Roma,  1J.57), 
J).  17. 


CHAP. 
VI. 


f  ^ 


232 


CHAP. 
VI. 


Basilica 
Aeniilirt. 


THE  KOMAN  FORUM. 

opened  in  one  direction  into  the  Forum,  and  in 
the  other  up  the  street. 

Tlie  position  of  this  temple  near  a  corner  of  the 
Forum  is  indicated  by  a  passage  of  Dio,  in  whicli 
he  describes  a  scene  at  which  he  was  himself 
j)resent  as  a  senator,  when  an  angry  crowd  col- 
lected round  Didius  Julianus,  as  he  was  preparing 
to  sacrifice  to  the  elanus  before  tlie  doors  of  the 
Curia,  and  the  loud  shouts  of  the  multitude  were 
rendered  more  terrible  to  the  ears  of  a  timid 
senator  bv  the  echo  from  the  buildini>:s  around.^^^ 

The  next  buildins:  to  the  Janus  on  this  side  of 
the  Forum,  and  proba])ly  adjoining  that  monu- 
ment,^" was  the  Basilica  Aemilia.  The  original  basi- 
lica on  this  site  was  erected  l)y  JM.  Fulvius,  censor 
with  M.  Aemilius  Lepidus,  u.c.  171).  Livy  places 
it  behind  the  Argentariae  Xovae.^     This  Basilica, 


BASILICA  AEMILIA. 


233 


G3!» 


^"  Krti  TiKoq  tTT^i^i)  TTftbtj  TO  (JWHpiov  t)\9e,  Kai  T<p  'lavtfi  ti^  irpo  Ttov 
Ovpwp  ai'Tov  Ovmn'  t/ifWfi',  t^i-Kpayov  TravTfg  .  .  •  wt,"  ^t  .  .  apyrpiov  Ti 
at'iTohj  vTTffrxfro  .  .  dvafioriffav  a/Lia  Travreij^  Ou  OiXofiev,  oi>  Xofifidvofu-v. 
Kai  avTolq  Kai  tu  ir'^pi^  otKo^ofiiifiaTa  tppiKatStg  ti  (nweTri]X}iaav.  Dio 
Cass.  Ixxiii.  13. 

*«  Schol.  Cruq.  ad  Hor.  Sat.  ii.  3.  18.  (Note  663.) 
'  M.  Fulvius  .  .  locavit  .  .  basilicam  post  arirentarias  novas  et 
forum  piscatorium,  ciicumdatis  tabernis  quas  vernlidit  in  privatum. 
Liv.  xl.  51.  Tins  passage  has  been  understood  as  \i  i\\Q  forum  pisca- 
torivm  were  only  introduced  to  indicate  tlie  position  of  the  new 
basilica,  and  the  shops  have  been  supposed  to  surround  tlie  basilica. 
The  forum  piscatorium  is  mentioned  by  Livy  as  injured  by  a  fire  at 
a  previous  date,  B.C.  210.  (Liv.  xxvi.  27.)  There  can  be  little 
doubt  that  Livy  meant  to  commemorate  the  rebuilding  of  the  fish 
market,  with  new  shops  around  it,  by  Fulvius.  It  is  inconceivable 
that  the  basilica,  which  was  in  the  Forum  Komanum  (Plutarch,  Caes. 
29,  Note  644),  should  be  described  as  post  forum  piscatorium^  which 


f/ 


J. 


CHAP. 
VI. 


though  distinctly  attributed  by  the  last-named 
liistorian  to  Fulvius,  was  afterwards  a])propriated 
as  a  monument  of  the  family  of  Lepidus.  Pliny 
tells  us  that  M.  Aemilius,  consul  B.C.  71),  w^ho 
appears  to  have  been  the  great  grandson  of  his 
namesake  the  censor  of  a  century  before,  fixed 
some  shields,  containing  portraits  or  figures,  in 
the  Basilica  Aemilia.''^  Yarro  employs  the  doul)le 
title  of  Basilica  Aemilia  et  Fulvia  when  he  men- 
tions a  sun-dial  which  was  there  placed.^ 

The  Basilica  Aemilia  was  ])ulled  down  bv  L.  ^ripnof 

.  .,.  -^  the  Basi- 

Aemihus  FauUus,  the  son  of  the  last-named  con-  iJ^^aPauiii 
sul,  and  ])rother  of  the  triumvir  Lepidus,  in 
order  to  be  replaced  by  a  nol)ler  edifice,  which 
was  afterwards  known  as  the  Basilica  Paulli. 
Ft  was  believed  that  Caesar  ])ought  ofit*  the  oppo- 
sition of  Paullus  to  his  ambitious  schemes  by  a 
bril)e  of  fifteen  hundred  talents,  which  were  em- 
l)loyed  by  Paullus  upon  this  building.  This  was 
during  the  consulate  of  Paullus,  b.c.  50.'     But  it 

could  only  mean  that  the  iish  market  was  between  it  and  the  Forum. 
Its  ^os\t\onpostargentarias  novas  corresponds  with  that  of  the  Basilica 
Sempronia  on  the  other  side, /;o we  veteres.  Liv.  xliv.  16.   (Note  125.) 

^-  iM.  Aemilius,  coUega  in  consulatu  Q.  Lutatii,  no!i  in  basilica 
modo  Aemilia,  verum  et  domi  suae  posuit  clypeos,  idque  Martio 
exemplo:  scutis  enim  qualibus  apud  Troiam  pugnatum  contineban- 
tur  imagines.     Plin.  N.  H.  xxxv.  4. 

3  Solarium  dictum   id,  in  quo  horae  in  sole  inspiciebantur,  quod 
Cornelius  in  baslli.,    \..,„iliaet  Fulvia  inumbravit.    Varro   L   L  vi 
2  (52). 

*  UavXil,  Ct  vwdTiij  uvTi  x«X««  Kai  7rn>Taic,'ma  TaXavTa  Cwtoq,  d<p'  ^v 
Kai  Tt)v  iiamXiKiiv  Uhvoq,  dvofia^Tov  dv(W,jf,a,  tij  dyop^  Trpoa^KoWfitrEv, 
«j/r<  n/f  4>oi;\/ji«f  oiKucofiiiOfimtv.     Plutarch.  Caes.  29. 

UarXov  vi    x'^iojv  Kai    TT^i'raKvnuou  TaXdvTior  inpiaro    p,,civ  al'Up  fx,',Tf 


234 


THE  JIOMAN  FORUM. 


BASILICA  PAULLI. 


235 


CHAP. 
VI. 

Allusion  of 
Cicero  to 
the  build- 
in  j;s  of 
Paullus. 


Two  basi- 
licas 

restored  or 
built  by 
Paullus. 


Identity  of 
site  of  the 
Basilica 
Aemilia 
and  Basi- 
lica Paulli. 


appears  from  a  letter  of  Cicero  to  Atticus,  written 
B.C.  54,  that  Paullus  was  at  that  earlier  date 
restoring  a  basilica  in  the  Mid  Forum,  in  which 
he  was  using  its  old  columns,  and  that  he  had 
also  contracted  for  the  building  of  another  on  a 
most  magnificent  scale,  while  Cicero  himself  was 
Inisywith  Caesar's  plans  for  the  enlargement  of  the 
Forum.^*^  This  passage  of  Cicero  has  occasioned 
no  little  controversy  in  the  endeavour  to  identify 
the  two  basilicas  which  Paullus  was  sinndtaneously 
building  or  restoring.  It  has  been  generally  as- 
sumed that  the  Basilica  in  medio  Foro  was  the  old 
Aemilian  basilica,  and  that  the  second  basilica 
mentioned  by  Cicero  was  the  buildino;  afterwards 
known  as  the  Basilica  Paulli.  But  this  explanation 
presents  considerable  difficulty,  as  it  supposes  a 
simidtaneous  existence  and  distinct  sites  for  these 
two  monuments,  which,  for  the  following  reasons, 
appear  to  be  improba1)le. 

The  Basilica  Aemilia  was  on  the  north  east  side 
of  the  Mid  Forum.^  So  was  the  Basilica  Paulli.' 
And  with  the  otlier  public  monuments  on  this 

(rvinrpuTTHv  fii'ire  tvox^f^v  •  .  •  TlavXoi;  fitv  ^t)  ti)v  TlavXov  Xsyofitinjv 
iSaaiXiKiiv  utto  raiv^f^  tmv  XjOf^^arwi/  driOijKS  'ViofiaioKj^  oiKoeufiijfia  TTf-pi- 
icaWtf;.     Appian.  Bell.  Civ.  ii.  26. 

"^^  Paullus  in  medio  foro  basilicani  iam  paene  texuit  iisdem  anti- 
quis  columnis  :  illani  autem  <|uam  locavit,  faeit  magni(icentissimaui. 
Quid  quaeris?  Nihil  gratius  illo  nionumento,  nihil  gloriosius. 
Itaque  Caesaris  amici  (me  dico  et  Oppium,  dirumparis  licet)  in 
monumentum  illud,  etc.     Cic.  ad  Attic,  iv.  16.     (Note  677.) 

"  Liv.  xl.  51.     (Note  641.) 

■   Statius,  Silv.  i.  1.  80.    (Note  173.)    Plut.  Galb.  26.   (Note  149.) 


site  there  was  not  more  than  room  for  one  basilica    chap. 

VI. 

of  such  importance  as  the  latter  structure  un-  — 
doubtedly  was.  We  must  therefore  conclude  that 
the  Aemilian  ])asilica  was  removed  to  make  place 
for  the  new  edifice.  That  this  was  in  fact  done, 
is  implied  ])y  the  statements  of  the  writers  who 
have  handed  down  the  story  of  Paullus  receiving 
a  bril)e  from  Caesar,  since  Plutarch  asserts  that 
the  1,500  talents  were  spent  in  building  a  l)asilica 
on  the  site  of  that  of  Fulvius,  while  Appian  says 
that  Paullus  l)uilt  with  this  money  the  Basilica 
Paulli.^^^  The  same  conclusion  is  supported  by  the 
fact  that,  after  the  period  which  we  have  now 
reached,  the  name  of  Basilica  Aemilia  disappears, 
while  the  Basilica  Paulli  is  frequently  mentioned. 
The  expression  used  by  Tacitus  in  speaking  of  a 
later  restoration  of  the  Basilica  Paulli,  where  he 
calls  it  the  Aemilian  monument,  tends  to  confirm 
the  identification  of  the  two  basilicas.^ 

Becker  has  coniectured  that  the  second  basilica  ^T'^." 

•^  of  Cic 

upon  which  Paullus  was  engaged  was  that  after 

wards  called  the  Basilica  Julia,  and  that  he  was  Hcajuiia? 

in  this,  like  Cicero  himself  in  the  other  matter, 

only  concerned  as  the  agent  of  Caesar.     If  this 

was  so,  it  might  account,  in  a  more  credital)le 

way,  for  the  large  sum  of  money  afterwards  paid 

him  and  reported  to  have  been  employed  upon 

his  own  basilica.^"     But  this  conjecture  supposes 

«*•*  See  Note  644.  "  Tac.  Ann.  iv.  72.     (Note  655.) 

"•*'  I^ecker,  Ilandbuch,  i.  ;J04  :  Smith,  Diet.  Biog.  art.  Lepidus,  j).766. 


me 

cero's 
basilicas 
the  Basi- 


f 


23() 


CHAP. 
VI. 


BASILICA  PAULLI. 


287 


Cicero's 
first  hasi- 
licji,  \)vr- 
hnjis  tlie 
IJasilica 
Semproniii; 
his  second, 
the  IJjisi- 
lica  ruuUi. 


Cicero's  old 
cohimns 
not  the 
Phrygian 
cohimns  of 
riinv. 


THE  JIOMAN  FORUM. 

Paullus  to  have  been  acting  at  this  time  in  concert 
with  Caesar,  wliich  does  not  appear  to  have  been 
the  case :  and  Cicero's  lano;uao:e  o-ives  the  im- 
pression  that  a  rivalry  existed  between  them,  and 
that  Caesar's  friends  were  led  on  ])y  the  large  ex- 
penditure of  Paullus  to  outbid  him  in  nmnilicence. 
It  is  more  probable  that,  at  the  time  when 
Paullus  was  rebuilding  the  ancient  monument  of 
the  Aemilian  family  on  a  scale  of  unprecedented 
grandeur,  he  was  also  restoring  in  a  humbler 
fashion  one  of  the  other  older  basilicas,  possibly 
the  Basilica  Sempronia,  soon  afterwards  replaced, 
as  we  have  seen,  by  the  Basilica  Julia.  Cicero's 
description  of  the  first  basilica,  which  he  places 
in  medio  Foro,  would  apply  with  equal  fitness  to 
the  Basilica  Sempronia  as  to  the  Basilica  Aemilia  ; 
while  the  superlative  admiration  which  he  ex- 
presses for  the  design  of  the  second  basilica  would 
lead  us  rather  to  identify  this  with  the  Basilica 
Paulli,  which  was  reckoned  for  many  generations 
one  of  the  most  mas^nificent  monuments  of  Rome. 
It  is  remarkal)le  that  Cicero  mentions  the  preser- 
vation of  the  ancient  columns  in  the  first  basilica, 
and  that  the  Basilica  Paulli  was  famous  in  the  time 
of  Pliny  for  its  columns  of  Phrygian  marble."'^  But 
it  is  not  likely  that  the  same  colunms  which  were 
conspicuous  in  a  more  luxurious  age  should  have 
belonged  to  the  period  of  tlie  older  Basilica 
Aemilia,  when  the  materials  introduced  in  Roman 

«^'  riin.  X.  H.  xxxvi.24.     (Note  656.) 


I 


i 


buildings  were  by  no  means  of  the  splendour  and  chap. 
costliness  afterwards  usual.*^^^  We  should  therefore  — '- 
only  regard  this  as  an  accidental  coincidence,  and 
not  as  a  reason  for  identifvins:  Cicero's  first  basi- 
lica  with  that  of  Paullus.  The  fact  that  the  re- 
storation of  the  former  was  nearly  completed 
when  Cicero  wrote,  whereas  the  construction  of 
the  latter  was  not  finislied  till  some  twenty  years 
later,  supplies  an  additional  reason  against  their 
identity. 

The  ])uildin2:  of  the  ij-reat  monument  of  Paullus  }^,asiiica  of 

O  o  Paullns 

was    prol)ably    interrupted    l)v   the    disturl)ance  f>n;pi^ted 

I  ^  1  .  ijy  Ills  son. 

arising  from  Caesar's  assassination;  and  it  appears 
to  have  remained  unfinislied  at  his  own  death, 
since,  according  to  Dio,  the  "  Portico  of  Paullus  " 
was  completed  by  Paullus  Aemilius  Lepidus,  the 
son  of  Aemilius  Paullus,  at  his  own  expense,  and 
dedicated  in  his  consulate,  B.C.  34.^  Only  twenty 
vears  later  the  same  Iniildins:  was  damaged  bv 
a  fire  which  reached  so  near  the  temple  of  Vesta 
that  the  sacred  treasures  were  removed  for  se- 
curity.    It  was  then  restored  by  Augustus  and 

«"  piin.  N.  H.  xxxvi.  1,2.  3,  5,  8.    See  before,  p.  103. 

'  Kai  T})v  (TToup  Tt)v  WavXov  KaXovfitpijv  Al/j.i\io(j  Aeirwoc  TlavXor 
idioig  HXetTiv  ^^iftKo^ofJijfTf,  Kav  ry  vTrartiq  KnOi^piorrtv.  Dio  Cass.  xlix. 
41.  As  to  the  use  of  the  word  <Troa  by  this  author  in  the  sense  of 
basilica,  compare  liv.  24  (Note  654),  Ivi.  28  (Note  101),  and  Ixviii.  10 
(Note  106),  where  the  critics,  supposing!;  -d  porticus  to  be  meant,  have 
substituted  the  conjectural  reading  Aiovia  for  \ovXia.  For  the  Latin 
basilica^  Plutarch  and  Appian  use  the  word  fSamXiKt]  (Note  644),  Dio 
(Tro«,  Strabo  fTToa  i^amXiKi)  (Xote  681),  Dionysius,  perhaps,  Tracrrac 
(Note  182). 


» 


238 


CHAP 
VI. 


Phrygian 
columns 
of  the 
Basilica 
Paulli. 


THE  ROMAN  FORUM. 

Others  in  the  name  of  Aemilius  Paulhis,  the  then 
representative  of  the  family  of  its  founder.''^ 
Some  thirty  years  later,  under  the  reign  of 
Til^erius,  M.  Lepidus,  though  a  man  of  mode- 
rate fortune,  obtained  leave  from  the  Senate  to 
repair  and  decorate  the  Basilica  of  PauUus, 
pu])lic  munificence,  as  Tacitus  informs  us,  being 
then  in  fashion/  In  the  time  of  Pliny  it  wa's 
accounted  one  of  the  most  magnificent  monu- 
ments of  Rome,  l)eing  especiaHy  admired  on 
account  of  its  columns  of  Phrygian  marble/' 
There  are  extant  medals  of  M.  Lepidus  represent- 
mg  this  basilica  as  a  building  with  two  rano-es  of 
columns  one  above  the  other,  inscribed  aemilia  . 

REF  .  S  .  C  .  M  .  LEPIDVS. 

The  Phrygian  columns  are  said  to  have  been 
removed  to  decorate  the  basilica  of  a  moreflmious 
Paulus,  the  Church  of  San  Paolo  fuori  le  nuu^a, 
where  some  of  the  columns  saved  from  the  burn- 


H  r.  rrrod  i,  UavX^.o,  UavOr,.  Kai  to  nvp  a^'  af,rr„  ^pog  ro  'EnnaTov 
a<l>iK,To,  ^ar,  Kui  ra  iepd  *,  rs  ro  naXdrtov  .  .  «ravo;u«^0,>,a  Kai  ei,  ri.v 
TOO  \epku.,  rov  A^og  oUiav  re9r,ra.  ,)  f^ir  ohv  arou  f^.ru  rovro  6v6f.ar^  f,h> 
VTTO  A,fc,Xiov,  }g  ov  to  tov  iroinmiVTOQ  TvoTE  avT,)v  ykvog  lXyiX{,9e,,  t^  c^  ^pyoj 
viT  AvyovoTov  Kai  vvo  tu,v  too  UauXov  <piXu,v  ipKocotxi,Bn.  Dio  Cass.  11  v  24 

^  Iisdem  d.ebus  Lepidus  ab   Senatu  petivit,  ut  basilicam   Pauli, 
Aemilia  monuinenta,  firinaret  ornaretque ;  erat  etiam  turn  in  more 
pubhca   nuimficentia    .  .  .    Lepidus,  quanquam   pecuniae  niodicus 
avitum  deeus  recoluit.     Tac.  Annal.  iv.  72. 

«  Nonne  inter  niagnifiea  basilicam  Pauli  columnis  e  Phry-ibus  mira- 
bdem,  foru.nque  Divi  August!,  et  temphim  Pacis  Vespaslani  Lnpe- 
ratoris  Augusti,  pulcherrima  opera  quae   unquam?      Plin.  N    H 
xxxvi.  24. 


SACRUM  OF  CLOACINA. 


239 


I 


ins:  of  the  ancient  church  may  still  be  seen  in  the     chap. 
modern  edifice  behind  the  high  altar.  — 

It  has  been  already  noticed  that  the  basilica  of 
Pauli  us  is  alluded  to  by  Statins  as  being  on  one 
flank  of  the  equestrian  statue  of  Domitian.  Its 
proximity  to  the  Lacus  Curtius,  which  appears  to 
have  been  close  to  the  same  statue,  is  also  indi- 
cated by  the  circumstance  mentioned  by  Plutarch 
in  describing  the  death  of  Galba,  that  some  of 
the  mutinous  soldiers  by  whom  that  emperor  was 
killed  at  the  Lacus  Curtius  were  seen  to  come 
into  the  forum  out  of  the  basilica  of  PauUus.^" 

The  Basilica  Aemilia  in  its  earlier  days  was  Tabemae 

Novae. 

])artly  hidden  from  the  open  Forum  by  the  Taber- 

nae  Novae,  behind  which  it  was  placed.    Near  these  Sacrum  of 

shops  was  the  altar  of  Cloacina,  which  is  mentioned 

by  Livy  as  the  scene  of  the  death  of  Virginia. 

The    Sacrum   of  Cloacina  is  also  mentioned   in 

Plautus  among  the  localities  of  the  Forum  ;^  and 

Pliny  records  a  tradition  that  the  Romans  and 

Sabines,  after  the  battle  of  the  Forum,  underwent 

purification  at  the  ])lace  where  in  his  time  were 

the  Signa  Venerns   Cluacinae,  for  that  cluere  in  signa 

the  old  language  signified  to  purify.^     An  ancient  cinaciime. 

coin  of  the  gens  Mussidla  represents   a  sort  of 

«-  Plutarch,  Galb.  26.  (Note  149.) 

«  Liv.  iii.  48.  (Note  130);  Plaut.  Cure.  iv.  1 .  10.  (Note  97.) 
"  Traditur  myrtea  verbena  Romanos   Sabinosque,  quum  propter 
raptas  virgines  dimicare  voluissent,  depositis  arniis  purgatos  in  eo 
loco  qui  nunc  Veneris  Cluacinae  signa  habet.     Cluere  enim  antiqui 
purgare  dicebant.     Plin.  N.  II.  xv.  36. 


240 


THE  ROMAN  FORUM. 


Janus,  a 
street. 


CHAP,     terrace  ha\  ino;  cancelll  and  two  images  upon  it, 
— '-      with  the  letters  cloacin.     Tliese  are  probably  the 
aigmi  mentioned  by  Pliny. 

Between  the  Basilica  Aemilia  and  the  Tabernae 
Novae  was  a  street  leading  from  the  Regia  and 
the  arch  of  Augustus  to  the  Curia.     This  road 
was  known  in   the  time  of  the  decadence  by  a 
Tria  Fata,  name  derived  from  the  Three  Sibyls   or  Fates, 
whose  statues  stood  upon   the  edge  of  it.''''     In 
earlier  days  it  appears  to  have  been  called  Janus. 
Before  the  end  of  the  Republic  this  part  of  the 
Forum   had   become   the   special    resort    of  the 
money-dealers,  who  probably  found  shelter  in  the 
Basilica  Paulli.'     Hence  Janus  (in  the  sense  of  a 
street)    or   the  middle   of  Janus,  Imius  medlus, 
appears  in  the  writings  of  Cicero  and  Horace  as 
the  Bourse  or  Exchange  of  Rome.     Cicero,  upon 
the    subject   of    the   getting   and   investment    of 
money,  refers  his  readers  to  the  worthy  persons 
who  sit  at  the  middle  of  Janus  ;  and  in  one  of  his 
Philippics,  alluding  to  a  statue  of  L.  Antonius, 
upon  which  he  was  described  as  patron   of  the 
Mid  Janus,  he  asks  derisively,  whether  in  all  that 
Janus  a  single  man  could  be  found  who  would 
lend   Antonius   a    thousand   sesterces.-       Horace 


Id  71  lis 
medins. 


^  See  before,  p.  79. 

'  Quia  omnes  ad  lanuin  in  basilica  stabant  feneratores.    Porph  ad 
Hor.  Sat.  ii.  3,  18. 

'  Sed  toto  hoc  de  -enere,  de  quaerenda,  de  coUocnnda  pecunia, 
etiara  de  utenda,  commodius  a  quibusdum  optimis  viris  ad  medium' 


JANUS,  A  STREET. 


241 


also  speaks  of  the  lessons  as  to  the  value  of 
money  which  were  to  be  learnt  in  Janus  from  top 
to  bottom. 

O  cives,  cives,  quaerenda  pecunia  prinnmi  est, 
Virtus  post  nummos.  Haec  lanus  summus  ab  imo 
Prodocet. 

And  Damasippus,  in  one  of  Horace's  satires, 
speaks  of  his  fortune  wrecked  at  Mid  Janus. 

Postquam  omnis  res  mea  lanuni 
Ad  medium  fracta  est,  aliena  negotia  euro, 
Excussus  propriis.^*'"^ 

One  of  the  older  commentators  on  Horace, 
strangely  misunderstanding  his  language,  thought 
that,  in  the  passages  just  cited,  the  poet  spoke  of 
three  statues  of  the  god,  a  summus  lanus,  a 
medius  Imius,  and  an  imus  lanus,  which  other 
scholiasts  concluded  must  have  stood  at  the  two 
ends,  and  in  the  middle  of  the  Forum.^     Bentley 

lanum  sedentibus.  quam  ab  ullis  philosophis  ulla  in  schola  disputa- 
tur.     Cic.  Off.  ii.  25. 

L.  Antonio  lani  Medio  Patrono.  Itane,  lanus  medius  in  L.  An- 
tonii  clientela  sit?  Quls  unquam  in  illo  lano  inventus  est,  qui  L. 
Antonio  millc  numnium  ferret  expensum  ?     Cic.  Phil.  vi.  5. 

e«3  Hor.  Ep.  i.  1,  52;   Sat.  ii.  3,  8. 

*  Duo  lani  ante  basilicam  Pauli  steterunt,  ubi  locus  erat  fenera- 
torum.  lanus  dicebatur  locus  in  quosolebant  convenire  feneratores. 
Aero  ad  Hor.  Ep.  i.  1,  52. 

Ad  lanos  eos,  qui  sunt  in  refjjione  basilicae  Pauli,  feneratores  con- 
sistunt  .  .  .  Unus  enira  illic  lanus  in  summo,  alius  in  imo  est,  quos 
hie  inducit  monere.     Porphyrio  ad  Hor.  ib. 

Duo  lani  ante  basilicam  Pauli  steterunt,  ubi  locus  erat  fenera- 
torum.  lanus  autem  hie  platea  dicitur,  ubi  mercatores  et  feneratores 
sortis  causa  convenire  solebant.     Schol.  Cruq.  ib. 

R 


CHAP. 
VI. 


Jainm, 
stn/imt/s, 
medivs  et 
imus. 


242 


CHAP. 
VI. 


THE  ROMAN  FORUM. 

pointed  out  how  groundless  these  interpretations 
were.'^'  But  modern  critics  and  antiquaries  have 
refined  upon  the  assumption  of  the  scholiasts, 
and  supposed  that  there  were  three  iani  or  gate- 
ways, instead  of  three  statues  of  the  god.  This 
supposition  has  no  foundation  whatever.  Ovid's 
allusion  to  the  multitude  of  iani,^  which,  assumino- 
the  existence  of  three  iani  of  the  Forum,  midit 
seem  to  refer  to  them,  is  easily  explained  when 
we  consider  that  every  gateway  in  Rome  was,  in 
this  sense  of  the  word,  a  iamis,  Becker,  who 
has  adopted  the  notion  of  three  iani  on  the  north 
side  of  the  Forum,  ])etween  the  Arch  of  Severus 
and  the  Faustina  temple,  pictures  them  as  capa- 
cious archways  with  cliaml)ers  above,  serving  as 
shelter  for  the  money  dealers.  He  argues  that 
Janus  cannot  have  been  the  name  of  a  street, 
because  the  site  of  laniis  7necUiis  was  ])eyond  all 
question  sub  Nonis,^  This  difficulty  is  founded  on 
an  inaccurate  idea  of  the  locality  to  which  this 

Iani  statuae  tres  erant;  ad  unam  illarum  solebant  conven'ire  credi- 
tores  et  feneratores,  alii  ad  reddendum  alii  ad  locandum  fenus.  Aero 
ad  Ilor.  Sat.  ii.  3,  18. 

Iani  autem  statuae  tres  erant ;  una  in  ingressu  fori,  altera  in  medio 
ubi  erat  eius  templum  prope  basilicam  Paulli,  vel  pro  Rostris.  Hue 
concurrebant  et  potissimum  suas  stationes  habebant  feneratores,  alii 
ad  reddendum  fenus  alii  ad  accipiendum.  Tertia  autem  statua  erat 
ad  exitum  fori.     Schol.  Cruq.  ib. 

««*  Falluntur  qui  lanos  tres  hinc  sibi  finijunt,  summum,  medium, 
imum;  cum  unus  fuerit  vicus  Iani  nomine  insi<rnitus  .  .  .  Erf^o  lanus 
summus  ab  imo,  est,  totus,  universus.  ^    Bentl.  ad  Ilor.  Ep.  i.  i.  54. 

"^  Ovid.  Fast.  i.  257.  (Note  614.) 

•^  Becker,  Ilandbucb,  i.  326,  note  600. 


i 


V 


JANUS,  A  STREET. 

latter  name  was  applied.  The  Novae  Taberaae 
stood,  as  we  have  seen,  at  a  short  distance  in 
front  of  the  Basilica  Aemilia.  The  sunny  side  of 
the  Tabernae  was,  as  we  know  from  Cicero,  called 
sub  Noi'ls.^*^'  The  street  runnins;  on  the  north  of 
the  Tabernae,  between  them  and  the  basilica,  was 
eJanus. 

""^  See  before,  p.  55. 


243 


CHAP. 
VI. 


R  1' 


»•; 


CHAP 
VII. 


Ar^ilemm. 


CIIArTER  VII. 

THE  ARGILETUM  AND  THE  IMPERIAL  FORA. 

The  preceding  chapter  closes  our  study  of  the 
monuinents  inchided  within  the  limits  of  the 
Roman  Forum.  In  those  that  follow  it  is  pro- 
posed to  discuss  with  less  detail  the  history  of 
some  of  the  localities  most  intimately  associated 
with  it. 

The  Argiletmii  has  been  already  mentioned  in 
connection  with  the  Temple  of  Janus,  which  was 
situated  at  the  end  of  it.  In  the  poem  of  Virgil, 
Evander  shows  Aeneas  the  sacred  grove  of  Ar- 
giletum,  and  tells  him  the  story  of  the  Argive 
stranger,  whose  death  gave  a  name  to  the  spot.^^^ 
Varro  supplies  two  conjectures  as  to  the  etymo- 
logy of  the  word,  one  connecting  it  with  Argos 
and  the  burial  of  an  Argive  hero  there,  the  other 
deriving  it  from  the  argillaceous  soil.'*^  The  latter 
derivation  is  also  adopted  by  Servius.''^ 

•••         Necnon  et  sacri  monstrat  nemus  Argileti, 

Testaturque  locum,  et  letum  docet  hospitis  Argi. 

Virg.  Aen.  viii.  345. 
»  Argiletum  sunt  qui  scripserunt  ab  Argola,  seu  quod  is  hue  vene- 
rit   ibique   sit   sepultus,   alii  ab  argilla,  quod  ibi  id  genus   terrae. 
Varro,  L.  L.  v.  32  (44). 

'"  Servius  ad  Aen.  viii.  345. 


[ 


■f 


> 


S  at 


^^>. 


,7 


EN 


'{' 


p- 


22 
&      -S     <    <  '   -y 

2  /  «:       -^.     /. 


>", 


v.. 


•^  4/'- 

> 


5? 


£^    X- 


^  ^  -  H 


I 


5- 


CHAP. 
VII. 


Argiletum, 


CHAPTER  VII. 

THE  ARGILETUM  AND  THE  IMPERIAL  FORA. 

The  preceding  chapter  closes  our  study  of  the 
monuments  included  within  the  limits  of  the 
Roman  Forum.  In  those  that  follow  it  is  pro- 
posed to  discuss  with  less  detail  the  history  of 
some  of  the  localities  most  intimately  associated 
with  it. 

The  Argiletum  has  been  already  mentioned  in 
connection  with  the  Temple  of  Janus,  which  was 
situated  at  the  end  of  it.  In  the  poem  of  Virgil, 
Evander  shows  Aeneas  the  sacred  grove  of  Ar- 
giletum, and  tells  him  the  story  of  the  Argive 
stranger,  whose  death  gave  a  name  to  the  spot.^^" 
Varro  supplies  two  conjectures  as  to  the  etymo- 
logy of  the  word,  one  connecting  it  with  Argos 
and  the  burial  of  an  Argive  hero  there,  the  other 
deriving  it  from  the  argillaceous  soil.^  The  latter 
derivation  is  also  adopted  by  Servius.'^ 

••»         Necnon  et  sacri  monstrat  nemus  Arsileti, 

Testaturque  locum,  et  letum  docet  hospitis  Argi. 

Virg.  Aen.  viii.  345. 
"  Argiletum  sunt  qui  scripserunt  ab  Argola,  seu  quod  is  hue  vene- 
rit   ibique   sit  sepultus,  alii  ab  argilla,  quod  ibi  id  genus   terrae. 
Varro,  L.  L.  v.  32  (44). 

■*  Servius  ad  Aen.  viii.  345. 


\ 


\ 


\ 


\ 


THE  ARGILETUM. 


Whatever  the  Aro^iletum  may  have  been  in  the 


245 


■r> 


CHAP. 
VII. 


days  of  Evander,  there  can  be  little  doubt  that  in 
historical  times  it  was  a  street.  The  expression  of  a  street. 
Livy,  ad  infimtmi  Arglletum,  when  compared 
with  the  ])hrases,  siimma  Sao^a  Via,  iiifima  Nova 
Via,  ad  medimu  Janum,  is  alone  sufficient  to 
suggest  this  conclusion.  The  same  may  be  in- 
ferred from  the  passage  in  Martial  w^here  he  gives 
the  address  of  his  bookseller,  in  the  Argiletum, 
opposite  Caesar's  Forum. 

Quod  qiiaeris  propius  petas  Hcebit; 
Argi  nempe  soles  subire  letiim. 
Contra  Caesaris  est  forum  tabema 
Scriptis  postibus  hinc  et  inde  totis, 
Omnes  ut  cito  perlegas  poetas. 
ininc  me  pete,  ne  roges  Atrectum  ; 
Hoc  nomen  dominus  gerit  tabernae.^"^ 

This  description,  if  it  be   taken   to  refer,  as 
it  a])pears  to  do.  to  the  Julian  Forum,  serves  to 

*^'  Mart.  Epig.  i-  118,  8.  In  another  epigram,  Martial  gives  the 
address  of  his  bookseller,  Secundus,  limina  post  Pads  Palladium- 
que  forum.  (Epig.  i.  3,  8.)  If  we  could  suppose  that  Martial 
would  use  the  term  Caesar's  Forum  of  Domitian's  new  work,  we 
shouhl  be  tempted  to  believe  Atrectus  and  Secundus  to  be  the  same. 
I5ut  the  term  Forum  Caesaris  seems  to  have  been  too  well  appro- 
priated to  the  Julian  Forum  to  be  otherwise  applied.  (Plin.  N.  H. 
xvi.  86;  XXXV.  45;  Ovid.  Trist.  iii.  i.  27.)  Both  booksellers  were 
probably  in   the    Argiletum.      Compare  Epig.  i.  4,   1.  (ad  librum 

suum). 

Arjriletanas  mavis  habitare  tabernas. 

Antiquaries  have  generally  assumed  that  Argiletum  was  the  name 
ot  a  district  or  quarter  of  the  town.  (Nardini,  ed.  Nibby,  iii.  260 ; 
Becker,  Ilandbuch,  i.  254;  Burn,  Rome  and  the  Campagna,  p  79; 
Smith,   Diet.   Geog.  art.  Roma,  p.  798.)     The  name  may  be  com- 


246 


THE  ROMAN  FORUM. 


CHAP,     explain  Ovid's  allusion  to  the  position  of  the  Janus 
—       in  connection  with  two  Fora. 

Cum  tot  sint  iani,  cur  stas  sacratus  in  uno, 
Hie  ubi  iuncta  foris  templa  duobus  habes  ?  6" 


Situation 
of  the 


Before  the  existence  of  the  imperial  Fora  the 
Argiietuni.  Argilctum  was  probably  a  lane,  running  from  the 
Janus  to  the  Suburra,  to  which  it  appears  from 
another  allusion  of  Martial  to  have  extended.^ 
The  Argiletum  thus  formed  the  main  communi- 
cation between  some  of  the  most  important  and 
populous  parts  of  Rome, 

Plurima  qua  medium  Roma  terebat  iter.* 

In  later  times  it  must  have  crossed  the  Forum 
of  Caesar  and  the  Forum  Transitorium,  and  pass- 
ing in  front  of  the  so-called  ''  Colonnacce,"  (the 
well-known  half-buried  Corinthian  columns  with 
the  figure  of  Minerva  above,  in  the  Via  Croce- 
bianca),  it  was  probably  carried  under  the  lofty 
wall  inclosing  the  imperial  Fora  by  the  broad  arch- 
way which  existed  to  the  east  of  the  Colonnacce 

pared  with  our  Piccadilly,  Pall  Mall,  or  Strand,  which,  whatever 
may  have  been  their  origin,  have  for  some  centuries  been  streets. 
This  appears  to  be  the  natural  destiny  of  names  in  a  crowded  city. 
The  Suburra,  which  gave  its  name  to  a  Servian  region  (Regio 
Suburana)  appears  to  have  been  also  a  street.  'Ertpovg  kuto.  Tt)v  xa- 
Xovfiivriv  ^vjSovppav  oSbv  TrepuTrefnrev.  Appian.  Bell.  Civ.  i.  58. 
«^2  Ovid.  Fast.  i.  257. 

'  Tonstrix  Suburrae  faucibus  sedet  primls, 

Cruenta  pendent  qua  flagella  tortorum, 
Argique  letum  multus  obsidet  sutor. 

jNIart.  Epig.  ii.  17. 
*  Mart.  Epig.  x.  28,  4.  (Note  630.) 


( 


PORUM  JULIUM. 

until  the  seventeenth  century,  and  is  represented 
with  the  neighbouring  temple  of  Minerva  (a  ruin, 
which  has  since  entirely  disappeared)  in  the  views 
of  Du  Perac  and  Gamucci.^'^ 

The  Forum  of  Caesar  w^as  situated,  as  we  have 
seen,  opposite  some  part  of  the  Argiletum  ;  but 
whether  it  lay  to  the  north  or  to  the  south  of  that 
street,  or  on  both  sides  of  it,  there  is  little  satis- 
factory evidence.  The  proximity  to  the  Vul- 
canal,  which  is  implied  in  Pliny's  story  of  the 
lotos-tree  whose  roots  reached  from  that  area 
to  the  Forum  Caesaris,  would  lead  us  to  infer 
that  it  extended  somewhat  to  the  north.^  On 
the  other  hand  the  expression  of  Cicero  in  one 
of  his  letters  to  Atticus,  where  he  speaks  of  this 
great  improvement,  which  he  was  himself  assisting 
to  carry  out,  as  a  widening  of  the  Forum,'  supplies 
an  argument  for  placing  it  on  the  south  of  the 
Argiletum.  The  construction  of  a  new  Forum 
behind  the  Curia,  or,  where  Canina  and  other 
recent  authors  have  placed  it,  north  of  the  Via 
Bonella,  could  not  be  well  described  as  a  widening 
of  the  Forum  Romanum  ;    but   that   expression 

«'*  Du  Perac,  Vestigj  delle  Antich.  di  Roma,  1674;  Gamucci, 
Antich.  di  Roma,  p.  55.     See  further,  p.  265. 

«  Plin.  N.  H.  xxxiii.  6.  (Note  463.)  See  further,  p.  250,  as  to 
the  position  of  the  Temple  of  Venus  Genitrix. 

'  Itaque  Caesaris  amici  (me  dico  et  Oppium,  dirumparis  licet)  in 
monumentum  illud  quod  tu  tollere  laudibus  solebas,  ut  forum  laxare- 
mus  et  usque  ad  atrium  Libertatis  explicaremus,  contempsimus 
sexcenties  II.  S.  Cum  privatis  non  poterat  transigi  minore  pecunia. 
Cic.  ad  Att.  iv.  16.  (Note  645.) 


247 


CHAP. 
VII. 


Position 
of  the 
Forum 
Julium. 


Position 
generally 
assigned 
to  it. 


Suggested 
position. 


248 


THE  ROMAN  FORUM. 


SITE  OF  THE  FORUM  JULIUM. 


249 


CHAP. 
VII. 


Argument 
from  the 
Regions. 


might  be  appropriately  used  if  a  space  were  cleared 
the  side  of  which  would  run  parallel  to  the  side  of 
the  Forum  along  a  great  part  of  its  extent,  leaving 
only  the  Basilica  of  Paullus  between  the  two  ai'eas. 
This  position  of  the  Forum  of  Caesar  appears  to 
be  strikingly  confirmed  by  the  well-known  passage 
in  Ovid's  Tristia,  where  the  poet,  describing  a 
route  to  the  Palatine,  steps  at  once  from  the  Julian 
Forum  to  the  Sacra  Via. 

Paruit,  et  diicens,  liaec  sunt  fora  Caesaris,  inquit ; 

Haec  est  a  sacris  quae  via  nomen  habet ; 
Hie  locus  est  Vestae,  qui  Pallada  servat  et  ignem ; 

Hie  fuit  antiqui  regia  parva  Nurnae.^^^ 

According  to  this  description  the  stranger  is 
led  immediately  from  the  Forum  of  Caesar  to  the 
commencement  of  the  Sacra  Via  in  the  neigfhbour- 
hood  of  the  Regia.  If  the  Forum  Romanum  had 
lain  between  these  two  localities  the  poet  would 
not  have  left  it  without  mention.  These  consider- 
ations induce  me  to  think  that  the  Julian  Forum 
extended  on  both  sides  of  the  Argiletum,  and  that 
it  lay  side*  by  side  with  the  Roman  Forum  for 
nearly  the  whole  length  of  the  latter. 

The  fact  that  Caesar's  forum  was  included 
in  the  eighth  Region  with  the  Roman  Forum 
and  that  of  Augustus,  while  the  Basilica  Paulli 
was  in  the  fourth  Region  with  the  Forum  Trans- 
itorium  and  the  Temple  of  Peace,  appears  to 
militate  against  the  supposition  that  the  Basilica 

«'8  Ovid,  Trist.  iii.  1,  27.  (Note  879.) 


4i 


lay  between  the  Forum  Romanum  and  the  Forum 
Caesaris.  But  this  argument  may  be  met  by  the 
consideration,  that  the  Argiletum,  which  appears 
to  have  been  the  boundary  of  these  Regions,  and 
probably  of  some  previous  divisions  on  which 
they  were  founded,  passed  through  the  middle  of 
the  Forum  Caesaris.  It  would  therefore  be  a 
matter  of  discretion  to  assign  the  open  area  to 
either  Region,  and  it  would  prol)ably  be  more 
convenient  that  it  should  be  entrusted  to  the  same 
police  supervision  as  the  Forum  Romanum.  The 
Forum  Augusti  fell  within  the  same  Region.  The 
Forum  of  Peace  on  tlie  other  hand  was  entirely 
within  the  fourth  Region,  and  the  Forum  Trans- 
itorium,  across  which  the  Argiletum  also  passed, 
and  which  might  for  this  reason  have  been  as- 
si2:ned  to  either  Re2:ion,  naturallv  went  with  the 
last  erected  Forum,  which  it  adjoined. 

It  is  worth  while  to  observe,  as  bearing  upon 
the  topography  of  the  Forum  Romanum  as  well 
as  the  later  Fora,  that  the  Fora  of  Augustus,  Domi- 
tian,  and  Trajan  appear  to  have  been  designed 
upon  one  rectangular  plan,  the  walls  of  the  re- 
maining buildings  of  all  these  Fora  being  parallel 
or  at  ri2:ht  ani>:les  to  each  other.  It  is  natural  to 
su])pose  that  these  parallel  lines  were  adopted  from 
those  of  the  Julian  Forum,  by  the  side  of  which  the 
later  Fora  were  built,  and  that  the  lines  of  the  Julian 
Forum  followed  those  of  the  buildings  already 
existino;    between    that    Forum    and    the    Forum 


CHAP. 
VII. 


Distribu- 
ti(m  of  the 
imperial 
Fora  in  the 
eighth  and 
fourth 
Kegions. 


Rectangu- 
lar plan 
of  the 
imperial 
Fora 


250 


THE  ROMAN  FORUM. 


CHAP. 
Vll. 

corre- 
sponds 
with  that 
of  S.  Adri. 
aiio. 


Connec- 
tion of  phm 
of  all  the 
Fora. 


Romanum.  Now  the  only  remaining  structure 
which  preserves  any  evidence  of  the  parallels 
upon  which  the  ancient  monuments  of  the  north- 
east side  of  the  Forum  Romanum  were  built  is 
the  Church  of  S.  Adriano,  the  walls  of  which  are 
of  the  seventh  century,  and  probably  raised  upon 
some  more  ancient  substructions/'^  And  it  is  a 
remarkable  fact,  tliat  the  walls  of  this  church  are 
parallel  with  the  lines  of  the  later  imperial  Fora. 
It  is  impossible  to  doubt  that  we  have  here  the 
clue  to  the  connection  between  the  plans  of  all 
the  later  Fora  and  that  of  the  Roman  Forum.  It 
will  probably  be  found,  when  the  north-eastern 
side  of  the  Forum  has  been  excavated,  that  the 
lines  of  the  Basilica  Paulli  and  the  whole  of  this 
side  of  the  Forum  Romanum  were  parallel  with 
those  of  the  later  Fora.''  There  is  a  passage  of 
Strabo  which  gives  a  good  idea  of  the  relative 
position  of  the  Fora,  where  he  describes  the 
striking  effect  produced  upon  a  stranger  when  he 
saw  one  Forum  leading  out  of  another,  and  all  the 
later  areas  laid  side  by  side  with  the  original 
Forum.^ 

«'9  Seep.  221. 

8«  The  Temple  of  Faustina,  which  was  the  first  building  on  the 
Sacred  Way  after  leaving  the  Forum,  departs  from  these  parallels, 
being  built  to  face  that  street. 

^  JldXivd'  el  nc,  elg  Tt)v  ayopav  rrapeXOiov  Tt)v  apxa'iav^  a\\i]v  t%  aWi]^ 
Uoi  7rapaiifi3\T}[iivt]v  ravry,  Kai  (SaaiXiKctg  (TToag  Kal  vaovc,  iSoi  ^i  Kui  to 
Ka7riTw\toi>  Kai  to.  ivravQa  tpya,  mi  tu  iv  Tt^  UaXariijj  Kai  T([j  Tt~ig 
Aif^iiag  TrepnrdTq),  p:'Miog  kKXaOoiTO  dv  twv  tKioOtV  TOiavrr}  fiev  t)  'Pw/x//. 
Strabo,  v.  3,  8. 


I 


■1 


FORUM  JULIUM. 


251 


CHAP. 
VII. 

Oriffiu  of 


The  Forum  of  Caesar  was  the  first  great  im- 
j)rovement  in  the  ancient  part  of  the  city.  It 
seems  to  have  been  planned  by  Julius  during  his  the  juiian 
absence  from  Italy,  and  commenced,  about  the  ^'''^'™' 
same  time  as  the  rebuilding  of  the  Basilica 
Aemilia  by  Paullus,  when  its  founder  was  engaged 
in  the  distant  conquest  of  Britain,  B.C.  54.  The 
land  required  for  this  new  area  was  mostly  co- 
vered with  houses,  which  had  to  be  purchased  at 
an  enormous  cost  from  private  persons.  In  these 
purchases,  at  the  date  of  Cicero's  letter  to  Atticus 
above  mentioned,  some  sixty  millions  of  sesterces 
had  been  expended-  The  total  cost  of  the  ground, 
without  including  the  buildings,  is  said  to  have 
exceeded  a  hundred  million  sesterces.^^^  It  is  pro- 
bable that  the  new  Forum  also  swallowed  up  the 
ancient  Fish  Market,  of  the  existence  of  which  in 
the  neighbourhood  of  the  Basilica  Porcia  there  is 
some  indication  in  one  of  the  plays  of  Plautus.^ 

The  position  of  the  Atrium  Libertatis,  to  which,  Atrium 

.  Libertatis 

as  we  learn  from  Cicero,  it  was  proposed  to  ex- 
tend the  Forum,^  has  been  the  subject  of  some 
controversy.  This  monument  first  appears  in  the 
pages  of  Livy  as  a  place  where,  in  the  year  b.c. 
212,  the  Tarentine  hostages  were  kept  in  confine- 


682 


Pyramidas  regum  miramur,  quum  solum  tantum  foro  extruendo 
H.  S.  millies  Caesar  dictator  emerit.     Plin.  N.  II.  xxxvi.  24,  2. 

Forum  de  manubiis  inchoavit,  cuius  area  super  sestertium  millies 
constitit.     Sueton.  lul.  26. 

'  Plaut.  Capt.  iv.  2,  33.  (Note  600.)     See  before,  p.  220. 

*  Cic.  ad  Att.  iv.  16,  8.  (Note  677.) 


252 


THE  ROMAN  FORUM. 


CHAP. 
VH. 


PiiMie 
office  of  the 
Censors. 


merit,  and  out  of  which  they  escaped  by  the  cor- 
ruption of  two  aeditui.^^^  It  was  rebuilt  by  the 
Censors  with  the  Villa  Publica,  B.C.  194.^  Other 
passages  in  Livy  show  that  it  was  used  as  the 
public  office  of  the  Censors,  in  which  business 
was  transacted  and  documents  preserved  relating 
to  status,  and  especially  to  the  condition  of  slaves 
and  libei'tiJ  It  appears  from  Cicero  that  the  evi- 
dence of  slaves  was  taken  in  the  Atrium  Libertatis 
previous  to  the  hearing  of  a  cause  before  the  higher 
Library  of  tribunals.^  Durins:  the  rule  of  Augustus  this 
monument  was  rebuilt  by  Asinius  Pollio,  who  con- 
verted it  to  an  entirely  new  use,  by  establishing 
there  the  first  public  library  known  at  Rome.  The 
library  was  adorned  with  statues  of  authors,  and 
the  only  living  person  who  was  admitted  to  this 
honom-  was  Varro.^     Ovid  complains  of  his  books 

^*  Phileas  Tarentinus  .  .  aditum  sibi  ad  obsides  Tarentinos  invenit. 
Custodiebantur  in  atrio  Libertatis  minore  cura  .  .  Hos  .  .  corruptis 
aedituis  duobus  quum  .  .  custodia  eduxisset,  etc.     Liv.  xxv.  7. 

«  Atrium  Libertatis  et  Villa  Publica  ab  iisdem  refecta  amplificata- 
que.     Liv.  xxxiv.  44. 

'  Postremo  eo  descensum  est,  ut  ex  quatuor  urbanis  tribubus  unam 
palam  in  atrio  Libertatis  sortlrentur  in  quam  omnes  qui  servitutem 
■    servissent,  coniicerent.     Liv.  xlv.  15. 

Censores  extemplo  in  atrium  Libertatis  escenderunt,  et  ibi  signatis 
tabellis  publicis,  etc.     Liv.  xliii.  15.  (Note  6.) 

*  Sed  quaestiones  urgent  Milonem,  quae  sunt  habitae  nunc  in 
atrio  Libertatis.  Quibusnam  de  servis  ?  Rogas  ?  de  P.  Clodii  .  .  . 
Heus  tu  Ruscio,  verbi  causa,  cave  sis  mentiaris.  Clodius  insidias 
fecit  Miloni?  Fecit.  Certa  crux.  NuUas  fecit.  Sperata  libertas. 
Cic.  pro  Mil.  22. 

"  Multaque  a  multistunc  extructa  sunt,  sicut  ,  .  ab  Asinio  Pollione 
atrium  Libertatis.     Sueton,  Aug.  29. 


ATRIUM  LIBERTATIS. 


253 


II' 


being  excluded  from  this  library,  as  well  as  that  of    chap. 
the  Palatine.  — 

Nee  me,  quae  doctis  patuerunt  prima  libellis, 
Atria  Libertas  tangere  passa  sua  est.^^^ 

The  building  was  sufficiently  large  to  furnish  Soldiers 

^  ,  »/  o  quartered 

accommodation  for  soldiers,  and  a  bodv  of  German  in  the 

.    ^  Atrium 

troops  was  quartered  here  at  the  time  of  Otho  s  Libertatis. 
insurrection,  and  was  sent  for  as  trustworthy  by 
Galba.  According  to  Tacitus  they  appear  to  have 
hesitated  in  their  allegiance;  according  to  Sue- 
tonius they  were  anxious  to  bring  assistance  to 
the  emperor,  but  were  delayed  by  losing  their 
way.^ 

The  Atrium  Libertatis,  of  which  the  above  site  of  the 
notices  are  found,  was  placed  by  the  older  topo-  Libertatis. 
graphers  on  the  Aventine,  where  a  temple  was 
dedicated  to  Liberty  by  Tiberius  Gracchus  in  the 
third  century  before  the  Christian  era.^  But  it  is 
evident  that  the  Atrium  mentioned  in  Cicero's 
letter  to  Atticus  cannot  have  been  there,  and 
some  writers  have  therefore  supposed  that  there 

M.  Varronis,  in  bibliotheca,  quae  prima  in  urbe  ab  Asinio  Pollione 
ex  manubiis  publicata  Romae  est,  unius  viventis  posita  imago  est, 
Plin.  N.  H.  vii.  31.     lb.  xxxv.  2. 

«««  Ovid.  Trist.  iii.  71. 

•  Praeceptum  .  .  primipilaribus,utGermanicos  milites  e  Libertatis 
atrio  arcesserent  .  .  .  Germanica  vexilla  diu  nutavere.  Tac.  Hist, 
i.  31. 

li  (Germanici)  ...  in  auxiJium  advolaverunt,  sed  serius  itinere 
devio  per  ignorantiam  locorum  retardati.     Sueton.  Galb.  20. 

2  Liv.  xxiv.  16. 


I 


( 


CHAP 
VII. 


Julian 
Forum 


254  THE  ROMAN  FORUM. 

were  two  Atria  Libertatis.^^^  There  is  no  sign  of 
this  in  the  authors  cited,  who  seem  always  to 
speak  of  the  Atrium  as  a  well-known  monument, 
not  requiring  any  further  description  to  identify 
it.  Cicero's  allusion  in  the  letter  to  Atticus  is 
indeed  the  only  passage  whicli  gives  any  direct 
Atrium  evidcuco  of  its  locality.  It  was  at  the  edge  of 
at  the  edge  the  Juliau  Forum  as  then  designed,  and  there  is 
no  reason  to  suppose  that  any  material  alteration 
was  made  in  the  plan,  which  Cicero  was  actually 
engaged  in  carrying  out.  It  has  been  observed  that 
one  of  the  notices  of  Livy  indicates  that  the  Atrium 
was  at  a  higher  level  than  the  Forum,  as  the  Cen- 
sors are  represented  as  going  up  to  the  building.^ 
This  has  been  applied  to  the  supposed  second 
Atrium  on  the  Aventine  hill,  but  it  is  more  likelv 
atitsnorth-  that  the  Ceusor's  office  should  be  near  the  Forum  ; 

westorn  ' 

t'n^i-  and  if  it  was  placed  on  the  rising  ground  behind 

the  Curia,  in  the  direction  of  the  Capitol,  it  might 
well  be  the  same  building  to  which  the  Forum 
was  proposed  to  be  extended.  A  fragment  of 
marble,  having  the  appearance  of  part  of  the 
dedicatory  tablet  of  a  temple,  was  found  before 


«"  Smith,  Diet.  Antiq.  Art.  Atrium.  Mr.  Rich,  the  writer  of  this 
article,  relies  on  the  use  by  Livy  of  the  word  aeditui  in  speaking  of 
the  custodians  of  the  Atrium  (Note  685),  to  prove  that  it  was  a  part 
of  the  Aedes  Libertatis.  But  perhaps,  as  the  Atrium  was  also  a  con- 
secrated place  (Ovid.  Fast.  i.  623),  it  might  have  its  aeditui.  A 
later  historian  speaks  of  the  aedituus  of  the  Curia.  Capitolinus, 
Pertin.  4.     (Note  473.) 

«  Liv.  xliii.  16.  (Note  687) 


ATRIUM  LIBERTATIS. 


255 


the  publication  of  Gruter  in  the  church  of  Sta.     chap 
Martina,  inscribed  with  the  letters, 


VII. 


ENATVS  .  POPVLVSQVE  .  R 
LIBERTATI.^®^ 

The  language  of  Cicero,  which  seems  to  treat 
the  extension  of  the  open  space  as  far  as  the 
Atrium  Libertatis  as  a  distinct  thing  from  the 
widening  of  the  Forum,'  is  favourable  to  the  sup- 
position that  the  Atrium  lay  at  one  end  of  the 
new  Forum.  And  tliis  position  is  rather  confirmed 
by  the  fact  that  it  remained  undisturbed  by  the 
construction  of  the  Forum  of  Augustus,  as  is 
shown  by  its  mention  by  Ovid  and  Tacitus.  It  is 
possible  that  the  ancient  substructions  in  the  Via 
Marmorelli,  whicli  have  been  generallv  connected 
by  antiquaries  with  the  Julian  Forum,  were  part 
of  the  Atrium  Libertatis. 

Becker  and  other  antiquaries  have  been  anxious  Capitoiine 
to  connect  the  Atrium  Libertatis  with  a  fragment  ^^''"' 
of  the  Capitoiine  plan,  in  which  the  word  liber- 
tatis is   found  upon   the  tribune   of  a  basilica.^ 

««5  Romae  in  foro,  in  aede  divae  Martinae,  fragmentum  tabulae 
marm.  quam  olim  Libertatis  templo  praefixam  fuisse  veri  simile  est. 
Vidit  Smetius.     Gruter,  xcix.  11. 

«  Cic.  ad  Attic,  iv.  16,  8.  (Note  677.) 

-  Becker,  llandbuch,  i.  462;  Smith,  Diet  Antiq.  or^.  Atrium  p.  113; 
Smith,  Diet.  Geog.  art.  Roma,  p.  798.  Becker  thinks  that  the  word 
LIBERTATIS  was  placed  in  the  tribune  nearest  the  Capitol;  but  Canina 
was  probably  ri^ht  in  placing  it  at  the  northern  end  of  the  basilica 
under  the  Quirinal.  This  is  shown  by  the  direction  of  the  letters 
as  compared  with  those  on  other  fragments.  It  is  thus  removed  as 
far  as  possible  from  the  Forum  of  Caesar.  If,  as  has  been  supposed, 
the  map  was  placed  on  a  wall,  a  comparison  of  the  lettering  shows 


1 


I 


256 


CHAP. 
VII. 

Tribune  of 
Liberty  in 
the  Ulpian 
basilica. 


Slaves 
manu- 
mitted in 
the  Forum 
of  Trajan. 


THE  llOMAN  FORUM. 

The  fragment  was  formerly  attributed  to  the 
Aemilian  basilica,  but  Canina  appears  to  have 
rightly  assigned  it  to  that  of  Trajan.  In  neither 
case  can  the  building  be  the  Atrium  Libertatis. 
On  the  former  supposition  it  would  be  part  of  a 
building  adjoining  the  Roman  Forum,  and  Cicero's 
j)roposal  to  extend  the  Forum  so  far  could  have 
no  meaning.  On  the  latter  assumption,  which  is 
admitted  by  Becker,  identification  is  out  of  the 
question,  since  the  very  site  of  the  Ulpian  basilica 
was  created  in  the  time  of  Trajan  by  the  removal 
of  part  of  the  Quirinal  hill.  To  whatever  ])uild- 
ing  it  belonged  there  could  be  no  great  i-esem- 
blance  between  the  object  marked  on  the  map 
and  the  Atrium  Libertatis.  The  Atrium  was  a 
building  of  considerable  extent,  comprising  at 
different  periods  a  public  office  and  a  prison, 
a  public  library  and  a  barrack.  The  word  on  the 
map  appears  merely  to  indicate  the  dedication  of 
an  altar  or  statue  to  Liberty  in  the  tribune  of  a 
basilica.  It  should  be  observed  however  that  in 
the  fifth  century  the  Ulpian  Forum,  and  probably 
the  basilica,  was  used  for  some  of  the  business 
which  would  have  been  appropriate  to  the  ancient 
Atrium  Libertatis,  since  the  manumission  of  slaves 
took  place  there.^^^    Becker  has  suggested  that  the 

that  the  east  side  was  at  the  top.     See  the  fragments  of  the  Forum, 
p.  26,  and  further,  pp.  267-8. 

'^^^        Nam  modo  nos  iam  festa  vocant,  et  ad  Ulpia  poscunt 
Te  fora,  donabis  quos  libertate  Quirites. 

Sidonius  Apoll.  Carm.  ii. 


i 


ii 


ATHIUM  LIBERTATIS. 


257 


Atrium   was  on  the  hill  removed  by  the  great     chap. 

work  of  Trajan,   and  that,  while  its  name   and      '. 

some  of  its  purposes  were  transferred  to  the 
basilica,  the  Ulpian  li])rary  was  possibly  a  de- 
velopment of  that  of  Pollio.  This  is  a  tempting 
conjecture,  but  it  must  be  remembered  that  our 
only  evidence  as  to  the  position  of  the  xVtrium 
places  it  upon  the  limits  of  the  extension  of  the 
Forum  as  desiicned  bv  Caesar. 

It   mav  seem    strange    that   Suetonius   should  ^^^toryof 
have  believed  that  the  German  soldiers  lost  their  H"'"" 

their  way. 

way  to  the  Forum,  or  to  the  Palatine,  if  they 
were  quartered  in  a  building  adjoining  the  Forum 
of  Caesar.'*^  But  this  historian,  whose  narrative  is 
not  consistent  with  that  of  Tacitus,  does  not  men- 
tion, and  may  not  have  known,  the  situation  of 
their  quarters.  And  it  may  be  conjectured  that 
the  part  of  the  building  in  which  the  soldiers 
would  be  lodged  was  at  the  back,  opening  upon 
one  of  the  narrow  lanes  of  the  city,  on  leaving 
which  it  might  not  be  so  difficult  to  take  a 
wrong  turn. 

The  principal  monument  of  the  Forum  of  Caesar  Tempic  of 
was  the  temple  of  Venus  Genitrix,  dedicated  by  oenitrix. 
the  dictator,  B.C.  45,  to  the  goddess  whom  the  Ju- 
lian fiimily  claimed  as  a  parent.^     It  is  mentioned 

•'»«  See  before,  p.  253. 

'  'Ave<TrrjK€  kui  rg  yevEreip^  tov  vcwi/,  wanep  ev^aro  fifWojv  iv  ^ap- 
naXiit  ^iaxt^(T9ai'  Kai  rtfievog  Tip  vetp  TrepuOrjKev^  o  'Vwnaioig  tra^ev 
ayopnv  tlvai.  ov  roiv  mvimv,  dW  iiri  irpd^eai  (Tvviovtojv  ig  d\\i)\ovg^  KaGa 
Kai  TltpaaiQ  tiv  tiq  dyopd^  Z,t\Tovaiv  i)  ^avQuvovai  rd  ciKaia.      KXtoTruTpar 


258 


CHAP. 
VII. 


THE  ROMAN  FORUM. 


Site  of  this 
Temple. 

Ruin  de- 
scribed by 
Palladio. 


by  Vitruvius  as  an  example  of  a  pycnostvle  biiild- 
ing,702  rpj^^  statue  of  the  deity  was  by  Arce- 
silaiis,  an  artist  who  had  enjoyed  the  protection 
of  Lucullus.  Such  was  the  hurry  of  the  dedica- 
tion, that  the  statue  was  erected  in  tlie  temple  on 
the  occasion  of  the  ceremony  in  an  incomplete 
state.^  A  statue  of  Cleopatra  was  placed  by  the 
side  of  the  goddess.'* 

In  the  portico  of  this  temple  Julius  sat  to 
receive  the  Senate  after  it  had  passed  some  de- 
crees in  his  honour,  and  gave  inex])iable  oifence 
to  the  Senators  by  not  rising  to  greet  them.  The 
meeting  of  the  Fathers  had  probably  been  held  in 
the  temple  itself/ 

The  site  of  the  temple  is  unknown.  Palladio 
has  recorded  the  discovery  of  the  foundations  of 
what  he  considered  to  have  been  a  temple  of  Nep- 
tune, some  fragments  of  a  cornice  found  on  the 
spot  being  ornamented  with  dolphins  and  tridents. 
The  intercolumniations  were  observed  to  have 
been  remarkably  narrow,  and  this  latter  circum- 
stance has  led  Canina  and  others  to  identifv  this 
ruin  with  the  pycnostyle  temple  of  Venus  Geni- 

re  eiKova  Ka\i)v  nj  Bet^  TrapftTTnaaro,  i)  Kai  vvp  ovv'tarnKev  avrn.  Anniaii 
Bell.  Civ.  ii.  102.  "^       '  ^       ■ 

^«-  Vitruv.  iii.  3.  (Xote  371.) 

'  Plin.  N.  H.  XXXV.  45. 

*  Appian.  Bell.  Civ.  ii.  102.  (Note  701.) 

'  Veru.m  praecipuara  et  inexpiabilem  sibi  invidiam  bine  maxime 
movit.  Adeuntes  se  cum  plurlmis  bonorlficentissimisque  decretis 
universos  patres  conscriptos  sedens  pro  aede  Veneris  Genitricis 
excepit.     Suet.  lul.  78.     Plutarch,  Caes.  60 ;  Dio  Cass,  xllv  8 


TEMPLE  OF  VENUS  GEXITRIX. 

trix.'^^  It  is  unfortunate  that  the  site  where  the 
ruin  was  found  is  not  more  distinctly  marked. 
Palladio  descril)es  it  as  "  opposite  the  Temple 
of  Mars  Ultor,  in  the  place  called  in  Pantano, 
which  is  behind  Marforio  ;"  and  savs  that  the 
discovery  was  made  in  digging  the  foundations 
of  a  house.'  The  position  of  the  statue  of  Mar- 
forio was  between  the  churches  of  S.  Giuseppe 

'*>"  Canina,  Foro  Rom.  94 ;  Becker,  Handbucli,  I.  3G4. 

^  Rlncontro  al  Tempio  di  Marte  V^endlcatore,  del  quale  sono  stall 
posti  I  disegni  di  sopra,  nel  luogo  cbe  si  dice  in  Pantano  cbe  e  dietro 
di  Marforio,  era  anticaniente  il  Tempio  che  segue  ;  le  cui  funda- 
menta  furono  scoperte  cauandosi  per  fabricar  vna  casa ;  e  vl  fu 
ritrouato  anco  vna  quantita  grandissinia  di  marmo  lauorati  tutti  ec- 
cellentemente.  Non  si  sa  da  clii  egli  fosse  edificato,  ne  a  qual  Dio 
fosse  consccrato,  ma  percbe  ne'  fragmenti  della  Gola  diritta  della  sua 
cornice  se  vedono  de'  Dellini  intagliati,  ed  in  alcuni  luoghi  tra  I'vn 
Delfino  e  I'altro  vi  sono  de'  tridenti,  mi  do  a  creder  cbe  egli  fosse 
dedicato  a  Nettuno.  L'aspetto  suo  era  TAlato  a  torno.  La  sua 
maniera  era  di  spesse  colonne.  Gli  intercolunnij  erano  la  vndecima 
parte  del  diametro  delle  colonne  meno  di  vn  diametro  c  mezo, 
il  che  lo  reputo  degno  di  auertlmento  per  non  auer  veduto  in- 
tercolunnij cosi  piccioll  in  alcun  altro  edificio  antico.  Di  questo 
Tempio  non  si  vede  parte  alcuna  in  piedl ;  ma  dalle  reliquie  sue, 
che  sono  molte,  s'e  potuto  venir  in  cognitione  degli  uniuersali, 
cioe  della  Pianta,  e  delT  Alzato,  e  de'  suoi  membri  particolari,  I  quail 
sono  tutti  lauorati  con  mirabile  artificio.  lo  ne  ho  fatto  cinque 
tauole.     Palladio,  Architettura,  lib.  iv.  c.  31  Ted.  Vcnet.  1570^. 

This  Is  followed  by  the  ground-plan  of  a  hexastjle  peripteral  tem- 
ple, with  a  cell  G6  feet  long  and  44]  feet  wide  and  a  portico  at  each 
end,  and  by  other  engraved  details.  If  such  a  building  was  found  in 
any  site  between  the  Forum  Roman um  and  the  Forum  Augustum, 
there  can  be  little  doubt  that  it  was  the  Temple  of  Venus.  But  has 
not  the  architect  constructed  a  Hercules  from  the  fragment  of  a 
foot?  He  says  expressly  that  It  was  Peripteral  (Alato  atorno).  The 
matter  is  obscure,  and  must  remain  so  until  exploration  or  accident 
has  rediscovered  the  ruin. 

s  2 


259 


CHAP. 
VII. 


I 


\ 


I 


260 


CHAP. 
VII. 


Caesnr's 
horse. 


THE  ROMAN  FORUM. 

(lei  Falegnami  and  Santa  Martina,  close  to  the 
west  corner  of  the  latter  ;  and  the  description  of 
Palladio  might  apply  to  any  place  between  this 
spot  and  the  Arco  de'  Pantani,  but  seems  rather  to 
point  to  some  site  near  the  Marforio,  possibly  in 
the  Via  Cremona.  Such  a  position  cannot  well 
be  supposed  to  have  been  near  the  centre  of  the 
Julian  Forum,  but  may  have  been  at  its  north- 
western end,  where,  according  to  the  foregoini;* 
observations,  the  Atrium  Libertatis  was  probably 
situated. '^^  We  do  not  know  enous^h  of  the  later 
historv  of  this  monument  to  determine  whether 
Palladio's  ruin,  which  must  have  belonged  to  a 
building  existing  at  a  late  date,  had  any  probable 
connection  with  it. 

The  Julian  Forum  was  not  finished  at  the  dic- 
tator's death,  since  its  completion  is  claimed  in 
the  Ancyran  Monument  as  a  work  of  Augustus." 

In  this  Forum,  before  the  temple  of  Venus, 
was  the  statue  of  a  horse,  which  was  bred  by 
Caesar,  and  would  not  bear  anv  other  rider.  The 
hoofs  of  the  fore  feet  of  this  animal  are  said  to 
have  been  cloven  in  such  a  wav  as  to  sui]:o:est  a 
resemblance  to  humanity,  and  to  have  given 
occasion  to  consult  the  Haruspices  upon  the  inean- 

'"»  See  before,  p.  254).  If  I  were  searching  for  the  remains  of  the 
temple  of  Venus  Genitrix,  I  should  commence  my  exploration 
where  a  rise  in  the  ground  at  the  end  of  the  Vicolo  del  Lauro  marks 
the  site  of  a  buried  building  of  some  consequence. 

»  FORVM  .  ivLiVM  .  .  .  PERFECi.     Mon.  Aucyr.  (Note  100.) 


261 


CHAP. 
VII. 


o 


FORUM  JULIU3I. 

ing  of  such  a  portent,  which  was  interpreted  as 
})resaging  to  its  owner  the  empire  of  the  world.'^^ 
Another  monument  of  the  Forum  Caesaris, 
more  than  once  mentioned  by  Ovid,  was  a  foun- 
tain, which  appears  to  have  been  adorned  with 
figures  of  nymphs  called  Appiades. 

Et  fora  conveniunt,  quis  credere  possit,  Amori ; 

Flammaque  in  arguto  saepe  reperta  foro, 
Subdita  qua  Veneris  facto  de  marmore  tempi 

Appias  expressis  aera  i)ulsat  aqnis. 
lllo  saepe  loco  capitur  consultiis  Amori, 

Quique  aliis  cavit  non  cavet  ipse  sibi.^ 


The  allusion  to  the  lawyer  in  the   last  lines  Tribunals 
shows   that   tribunals   were   held   in   tlie   Julian  iTan  Forum. 
Forum,   or   in    some   building   opening  upon   it, 
perha))s  the  Basilica  of  Paullus.^     After  the  con- 
struction of  the  Forum  of  Caesar,  the  older  area 
was  sometimes  distinguished  as  the  Great  Forum. ^ 

It  is  not  proposed  to  describe  in  detail  the  other  ^^^ber 

Fora. 

"'°  Nee  Caesaris  dictatoris  quenquam  alium  recopisse  dorso  equus 
traditur  ;  idemque  humanis  similes  pedes  priores  habuisse :  hac 
efligie  locatus  ante  Veneris  Genetricis  aedem.     Plin.  N.  H.  viii.  64. 

Utebatur  autem  equo  insigni,  pedibus  propc  humanis  et  in  modum 
digitorum  ungulis  fissis,  quem  natum  apud  se  cum  haruspices  im- 
perium  orbis  terrae  significare  domino  pronunciassent,  magna  cura 
aluit  nee  palientem  sessoris  alterius  primus  ascendit,  cuius  ctiani 
instar  pro  aede  Veneris  Genetricis  postea  dedicavit.    Sueton.  Jul.  61. 

•  Ovid.  Ar.  Am.  i.  81 ;  ib.  iii.  451  ;  Ovid.  Rem.  Am.  659. 

'  Causas,  inquis,  agam  Cicerone  disertius  ipso, 

Atque  erit  in  triplici  par  mihi  nemo  foro. 

Mart.  Ep.  iii.  38-4.    Sueton.  Aug.  29.  (Note  7 1 4.) 

'  Dlo  Cass,  xliii.  2   ;  Notitia  in  Keg.  viii.     See  Appendix. 


y 


CHAP. 
VII. 


Fornm 
Augustum 


262  THE  ROMAN  FORUM. 

imperial  Fora,  but  a  few  words  may  be  added  with 
respect  to  their  position  and  principal  monu- 
ments. 

There  can  be  little  doubt  that  the  Forum  of 
Augustus  lay  to  the  north  of  that  of  Julius,  and 
to  the  south-east  of  the  great  im})rovement  of  Tra- 
jan. This  Forum  w^as  the  result  of  the  need  still 
felt  of  larger  accommodation  for  judicial  business 
than  was  afforded  by  the  Eoman  and  Julian  Fora. 
It  was  formed,  like  the  latter,  on  ground  pre- 
viously occupied  by  private  dwellings  ;  and  was 
opened,  like  that  Forum,  in  a  hurry,  and  w^ithout 
waiting  for  the  completion  of  the  temple  of  Mars 
Ma"T^^  ^^  Ultor,  which  w^as  its  great  ornament.  This  temple 
uitor.  had  been  vowed  by  Augustus  in  the  war  against 
Brutus  and  Cassius,  but  was  not  dedicated  until 
B.C.  2.  It  was  appointed  to  be  the  place  for 
taking  the  opinion  of  the  Senate  upon  wars  and 
triumphs  ;'^^  and  must,  therefore,  have  been  of  con- 

"*   IN  .  PRIVATO  .  SOLO  .  MARTIS  .  VLTORIS  .  TEMPLVM  .  [f]oRVMQVE 

AVGVSTVM  .  [ex  .  mamJbiis  .  FECI.     Monum.  Ancyr. 

Publica  opera  extruxit  .  .  .  Forum  cum  aede  Martis  Ultoris  .  .  . 
Fori  extruendi  causa  fuit,  liomiiium  et  iudiciorum  multitudo,  quae 
videbatur  iion  sufficientibus  duobus,  etiam  tertio  indigere;  itaque 
festinatius  necdum  perfecta  Martis  aede,  publi(;atum  est,  cautumque 
ut  separatim  in  eo  publica  iudicia,  et  sortitiones  iudicum  fierent. 
Aedem  Marti  bello  Philippensi  pro  ultione  paterna  suscepto  voverat. 
Sanxit  ergo,  ut  de  bellis  triumphisque  hie  consuleretur  senatus,  pro- 
vincias  cum  imperio  petituri  liinc  deducerentur,  quique  victores  re- 
dissent,  hue  insignia  triumphorum  conferrent.     Sueton.  Aug.  29. 

Kai  vtwv  'Apeog  Tifiiopov  tv  T(p  KaTnTcoXuf),  Kara  to  tov  Awg  rov  ^epe- 
Tpiov  lifKio^ia  irpoQ  ti)v  twv  fft]fi€iojv  avicBemv  Kai  \pT]^i(T6i^ivai  tK^Xevne  Kai 
iTToinoep.     Dio  Cass.  liv.  8.     Velleius,  ii.  100,  2 ;  Macrob.  Sat.  ii.  4. 


I 


FORUM  AUGUSTUM.  263 

siderable  size,  a  fact  which  is  directly  testified  bv     C"ap. 

Ovid.  ^      I!i 

Ultor  ad  ipse  suos  caelo  descendit  honores, 

Temi)laque  in  Aiigusto  conspicienda  foro. 
Et  Deus  est  ingens  et  opus ;  debebat  in  urbe 

Non  aliter  nati  Mars  habitare  sui. 

The  ruin  with  Corinthian  columns  in  the  Via 
Bonella  is  recognised  as  a  fragment  of  this  temple, 
the  grandeur  and  beauty  of  the  remains  being  the 
principal  evidence  of  their  identity. 

The  words  of  Dio,  which  appear  to  place  the  Supposed 
temple  in  the  Capitol,  have  given  rise  to  the  sup-  tem^ie 
position  that  there  were  two  temples  of  Mai-s  Ultor  uiton"' 
built  by  Augustus,  a  supposition   which    is  sup- 
ported l)y  the  fact  that  one  of  the  medals  of  that 
emperor  contains  what  looks  like  the  representa- 
tion of  a  round  temple,  with  the  letters  mar  .  vl  . 
This  conclusion   is  adopted  by  Niebuhr,  and  by 
Becker,  who  thinks  that  it  is  confirmed  by  the 
words  used  by  Ovid  in  speaking  of  the  dedication 
of  this  temple  : 

Nee  satis  est  meruisse  semel  cognomina  Marti ; 

Persequitur  Partlia  signa  retenta  nianu. 

♦  *  *  *  ♦         * 

Hite  deo  templunique  datum  nomenque  bis  ulto, 
Et  nieritus  voti  debita  solvit  honor. ^ 

But,  as  the  words  of  Dio  appear  really  to  relate  No  suf- 
to  the  great  temple  of  Mars  Ultor  in  the  Forum,  evidence 

of  a  second 
■'^  Ovid.  Fast.  v.  551.     Tlin.  N.  II.  xxxvi.  24.     (Note  656.)  temple. 

«  Ovid.  Fast.  v.  579,  595.    Niebuhr.    Beschr.  der   Stadt  Rom.  iii. 
1.  -281  ;  Becker,  Handbuch,  i.  371. 


264 


CHAP. 
VII. 


THE  ROMAN  FORUM. 

in   which,  according  to  Suetonius,  the  standards 
were  to  be  dedicated,  it  is  not  improbable  that 
a  mistake  has  been  caused  in  this  passage  by  the 
dislocation    of  words  which  are    properly  appli- 
cable to  the  temple  of  Jupiter  Feretrius.     And 
the  verses  of  Ovid  do  not  seem  to  imply  that  two 
temples  were  built,  but  rather  that  one  temple  was 
doubly  earned.     The  coin  still  remains  to  be  ex- 
plained ;  but  perhaps  Canina's  interpretation  of  it 
is  the  true  one,  that  it  represents  the  interior  of  a 
temple  with  a  semicircular  tribune  or  apse.    This 
seems  the  more  probable,  as  the  cm-ved  lines  of 
the  entablature  rise  at  the  two  ends,  instead  of 
felling,  as  would  be  the  case  if  the  exterior  of  a 
circular  temple  were  seen  in  perspective. 

The  back  of  the  temple  of  Mars  ITltor  is  placed 

the  Forum  .  i    /»  n         i  •    i 

Augustum.  agamst  a  lofty  wall,  which  appears  to  have  sepa- 
rated the  Forum  Augustum  from  the  crowded 
district  in  its  rear.  Close  to  the  temple  is  an 
ancient  arclnvay,  now  called  Arco  de'  Pantani, 
through  whicli  the  modern  traffic  passes  at  a 
considerably  higher  level  than  the  original  street, 
which  led  into  the  neighbourhood  of  the  Suburra. 
It  has  been  well  suggested  that  the  object  of  this 
high  wall  was  to  protect  the  valuable  monuments 
of  the  Forum  from  the  frequent  risks  of  fire.'" 

"'  Becker,  Handbuch,  i.  370  Tacitus  speaks  of  the  absence  ot 
such  impediments  in  the  part  of  the  city  burnt  in  the  fire  of  Xero. 
Neque  enim  doraus  munimentis  septae  vel  templa  muris  cincta  aut 
quid  aliud  morae  intcriacebat.     Tac.  Ann.  xv.  38. 


n 


FORUM  TRANSITORIUM. 


265 


Wall  of 


Arco  de' 
Pantani. 


<•; 


The     Forum    constructed     by  Domitian    and     chap. 

•^  VII. 

called   Forum   Transitorium,  Forum   Nervae,  or       — 

„  _  p     1  /•  Forum 

rorum  Minervae,  lay  to  the  south-east  ot  that  oi  Transi- 
Augustus.    Its  site  was  formerly  marked  hy  the  ^^^^^  ^^  ^^ 
considerable  ruin  of  the  Temple  of  Minerva  which  Minerva. 
existed  apparently  until  the  seventeenth  century, 
with  the  south-east  side  of  its  portico  opposite 
to  the    so-called  Colonnacce,  the  two  Corinthian 
colunms  still  remaining  in  the  Via  Crocebianca.'^^ 
This  Temple,  erected  by  Domitian,  was  dedicated 
by  the  emperor  Nerva,  a.d.  97,  whence  the  second 
name  of  the    Forum,  which  was  also  sometimes 
called  after  the  2:oddess.^     The  name  Transito- 
rium  or  Pervium  was  probably  given  to  it  be- 
cause the  great  thoroughfare  called  the  Argiletum 
passed  across  it.     The  so-called  Colonnacce  sup-  The  Colon. 

A  ^  *-       nacce. 

port  an  entablature  rich  with  sculpture,  over 
which  is  a  fis^ure  of  Minerva  in  hi^h  relief.  This 
monument  formed  part  of  the  decoration  of  the 
wall  of  the  Forum,  w^hich  in  the  time  of  Alexander 
Severus  was  surrounded  with  statues  of  the  deified 
emperors,  either  equestrian  or   nude  figures  on 


^"»  See  p.  247,  Note  675. 

8  Excitavit  . .  .  forum  quod  nunc  Nervae  vocatur.  Sueton.  Dom.  5. 
Abdicavit  (Nerva),  dedicate  prius  foro  quod  appellatur  Pervium, 
quo  aedes  Minervae  eminentior  consurgit.  Aur.  Vict.  Caes.  12. 
Martial,  Ep.  i.  2,  8.  The  inscription  preserved  by  Gamucci  from  the 
ruins  of  the  Portico  is  as  follows  : 

IMF  .  NERVA  .  CAESAR  .  AVG.  PONT  .  MAX 
TRIB  •  POT  .  II  •  IMP  .  TI.  PROCOS 


See  also  Palladio,  Architettura,  iv.  8. 


266 


II 


CHAP 
VII. 


Junns 

Qnjidri- 

frons. 

Forum  of 
Peace. 


Temple  of 
Peace. 


THE  ROMAN  FORUM, 

f'oot.'^"  Another  chief  monument  of  the  Forum 
Transitorium  was  the  Temple  of  Janus  Quadri- 
frons.  The  completion  of  this  monument  is  cele- 
brated by  one  of  the  poems  of  Martial.^ 

The  Forum  Pacis  probably  lay  to  the  south- 
east of  the  Forum  Transitorium.  The  contiguity 
of  these  two  Fora  is  shown  by  Martial's  descrip- 
tion of  the  address  of  one  of  his  booksellers. 

Limina  post  Pacis  Palladiumqiie  fonim.2 

The  magnificent  Temple  of  Peace,  to  which  the 
Forum  formed  a  sort  of  close,  was  dedicated  by 
Vespasian  in  his  eighth  consulate,  a.d.  77.  Sue- 
tonius has  been  generally  understood  to  state  that 
that  emperor  built  the  Temple  of  Peace  next  to 
proximur  ^^^  1^'orum  Pvomauum.^  But  no  topographer  has 
found  a  place  for  it  corresponding  to  this  descrip- 
tion, and  it  may  be  suggested  that  the  words  foro 
proxiniU7n  should  rather  be  translated  ''  next  to 
her  Forum,"  that  is,  adjoining  the  Forum  of  Peace. 
It  has  been  supposed  that  this  area  had  not  the 
name  of  Forum  until  a  later  time,  but  Martial 
counts  it  among  the  four  Fora  which  surrounded 
the  Temple  of  Janus  Quadrifrons. 

"-<»  Lamprid.  Alex.  Sev.  28. 

>  Martial,  Ep.  x.  28.     (Note  630.) 

-  Martial,  Ep.  i.  2,  8. 

'  Fecit  et  nova  opera,  templum  Pacis  foro  proxiniuni.  Siieton. 
Vesp.  9. 

'ETTi  U  Tov  Oveamavov  Urov  Kai  Im  rov  Thov  rhaprov  apxivrow,  ro 
rnq  Eipt'ivng  HfievoQ  KaOKpioOn,  o  te  ko\o<T(t6c  d^POfxaop^vog  Iv  rg  'lep^  i^^^ 
t^pvOi}.     Dlo.  Cass.  Ixvi.  15. 


Templum 


TEMPLE  OF  PEACE. 

Nunc  tiia  Caesareis  cinguntur  limina  donis, 
Et  fora  tot  numcras,  lane,  quot  era  geris.^w 

The  ruin  known  in  the  last  century  as  the 
Temi)le  of  Peace  has  been  assigned  by  modern 
antiquaries  to  the  Basilica  of  Constantine.^ 

The  temple,  which  is  said  to  have  been  the 
largest  and  most  beautiful  in  Rome,^  was  burnt 
down  in  the  reign  of  Commodus,^  and  there  is  no 
direct  evidence  of  its  having  been  rebuilt.  It  is 
named  however  among  the  monimients  of  the 
fourth  Region,  to  which  it  gave  its  name,  in  the 
Notitia  of  the  time  of  Constantine,  and  appears  to 
be  mentioned  l)v  Trebellius  Pollio  as  an  existing 
building  in  the  middle  of  the  third  century.'  It 
seems  to  have  l)een  a  ruin  in  the  time  of  Proco- 
pius,  about  a.d.  550.^ 

There  are  some  ancient  walls  existing  behind  the 
church  of  SS.  Cosmas  and  Daniian,  at  the  foot  of 
which,  on  the  north-east  side,  near  the  north 
corner  of  the  Basilica  of  Constantine,  the  frag- 
ments of  the  Marble  Plan  of  Rome,  now  in  the 
Capitoline  Museum,  were  found  in  the  sixteenth 
century,  and  some  additional  fragments  were  dug 
out  in  18G7.'    These  walls  and  those  of  the  church 

'■■'  Martial,  Ep.  x.  28,  5.     (Note  630  ) 

«  See  Chapter  VIll,  p.  282. 

=•  MkyiffTov  Kut  Kd\\i(yTov  yevofifvov  tCov  Iv  ry  noXfci  tp-yu)V.  llero- 
dian,  i.  14.     Plin.  N.  II.  xxxvi.  24.     (Note  G56  ) 

«  Dio  Cass.  Ixxii.  24.     (Note  777.) 

■  Treb.  Poll,  xxx  Tyran.  31.  "  Procop.  Bell.  Goth.  iv.  21- 

9  The  first  discovery  was  made  during  the  papacy  of  Pius  IV. 
(1559—66)      It  is  mentioned  by  Ganuicci,  in  his  Antichit^  di  Konia, 


267 


CHAP. 
Vll. 


History  of 
the  Temple 
of  Peace. 


Buildings 
at  the  back 
of  the 
Temple  of 
Romulus. 


Marble 
map  of 
Rome 


268 


THE  ROMAN  FORUM. 


CHAP 
VII. 


probal)lv 
plated  in 
the  Forum 
of  Peace. 


itself,  which  appears  to  occupy  an  ancient  site, 
do  not  square  with  the  Via  Sacra,  but  are  parallel 
with  the  lines  of  the  imperial  Fora.  It  may  be 
concluded  that  they  belonged  to  buildings  con- 
tiguous to  the  Forum  of  Peace  ; '''  and  the  Map  of 
Rome  was  not  improbably  placed  beneath  a  Por- 
ticus  on  the  south-west  wall  of  this  Forum.     It 


published  in  156.5,  and  by  Panvinius,  in  an  introduction  to  his  Anti- 
(juaeUrbis  Imago  (Spieilegium,  Mai,  viii.  654),  both  of  whom  state 
that  the  plan  had  originally  been  affixed  to  a  wall.  Flaminio  Vacca 
in  1594  gives  the  following  account,  as  having  been  an  eye-witness 
of  the  discovery:— Mi  ricordo  aver  veduto  cavare  dietro  alia  Chiesa 
di  SS.  Cosma  e  Damiano,  e  vi  fu  trovata  la  pianta  di  Koma  pro- 
filata  in  marmo;  e  detta  pianta  serviva  per  incrostura  al  muro  : 
.  .  .  .  ed  al  presente  ....  si  ritrova  nell'  antiquario  del  Cardinal 
Farnese.     F.  V.  in  Nardini,  Ptoma  Antica,  iy. 

In  1673Bellori  published  engravings  of  167  fragments,  with  notes, 
which  are  reproduced  in  Graevius,  Thesaurus,  iv.  Bellori  mentions 
that  Fulvius  Orsinus  had  a  copy  of  them  on  paper,  which  was 
afterwards  placed  in  the  Vatican  library  (Cod.  Vat.  3439).  It  is 
believed  that  Bellori  copied  the  drawings  of  Orsinus,  but  he  does 
not  appear  to  have  done  so  very  accurately.  Seventy-four  out  of 
these  167  fragments  have  been  lost. 

Those  which  remained,  with  restorations  of  the  lost  portions,  were 
placed  in  1742  by  Benedict  XIV.  on  the  walls  of  the  staircase  of  the 
Capitoline  Museum,  in  twenty  groups,  together  with  six  groups  of 
fragments  which  are  not  included  among  those  copied  by  Bellori. 
It  is  stated,  however,  by  Piranesi  that  many  of  these  last  nre  broken 
pieces  of  the  missing  fragments.  Piranesi  engraved  the  whole  in  his 
Antichith  Komane,  1756.  Those  discovered  in  1867  will  be  found 
in  Mr.  Parker's  Archaeology  of  Rome,  ii.  plates  43.  44. 

I'rof.  II.  Jordan  has  engraved  all  the  original  fragments  still  exist- 
ing, with  fac-similes  of  the  Vatican  drawings  and  the  engravings  of 
Bellori  for  the  lost  portions,  accompanied  by  a  critical  !account  of 
the  whole,  in  his  Forma   Urbis   Romae  Regionum  XIIII.     Berlin, 
1875.    See  also  Burn,  Rome  and  the  Campagna,  p.  198. 
The  fragments  relating  to  the  Forum  itsehf  arc  given  before  p  26 
^^'  See  before,  p.  249.     The  Temple  of  Romulus  was  not  built  upon 
these  lines,  but  faced  the  Sacred  Way.    Rossi,  Bull.  Christ.  1 867,  p  6G 


MARBLE  PLAN  OF  ROME. 


209 


appears  to  have  been  made  during  the  joint  reign     ciiap. 
of  Severus  and  Caracalla.'^^     The  building  whose      — 

1  1  1  ^>      1  ^^       n  i    •     1        Tcmplc  of 

remains  exist  at  the  back  of  the  wall,  from  which  vicapota, 
the  fragments  of  the  map  are  supposed  to  have  ^"* 
fallen,  had  an  arched  entrance  to  the  south-east, 
in  a  lane  which  appears  to  have  led  from  the 
Sacra  Via  to  the  Carinae.^  This  building  has  not 
been  identified.  The  Sub  Velia,  which  must  have 
been  about  this  site,  contained  in  early  times, 
according  to  tradition,  the  residence  of  Publicola, 
and  in  the  time  of  Livy  and  Asconius  possessed  a 

"•^  See  before,  p  184.  The  scale  of  the  plan  is  said  by  Caninato 
be  about  1  in  250.  According  to  Jordan  (Forma  Urbis  lieg.  p.  14) 
it  was  as  nearly  as  can  be  ascertained  1  in  300.  Canina  supposes  it 
to  have  formed  the  pavement  of  the  Temple  of  Romulus,  and  not  to 
have  been  affixed  to  a  wall.  Becker  (Ilandbuch,  i.  p.  xii.)  appears 
to  share  the  same  opinion,  and  adopts  the  view  of  Canina  that  the 
plan  was  intended  to  be  looked  at  from  north  to  south.  Becker 
and  others  interpret  Vacca  (see  note  728)  to  mean  that  it  was  dis- 
covered on  a  wall  either  inside  the  church  or  behind  it.  Vacca 
seems  rather  to  imply  that  the  fragments  were  found  by  digging  at 
the  foot  of  a  wall  behind  the  church,  as  were  the  later  fragments  in 
1867,  and  that  the  conclusion  that  they  had  served  for  the  facing  of 
the  wall  was  an  inference  from  the  position  in  which  they  were 
found.  The  word  dentro  has  been  printed  for  dietro  in  Vacca's  me- 
moir by  Fea  (IMiscell.  i.  1),  which  appears  to  have  contributed  to 
cause  some  confusion  on  this  point.  At  the  place  where  the  frag- 
ments were  found  in  1867  the  original  marble  pavement  was  still  in 
sitUy  twenty  foet  below  the  present  level  of  the  soil. 

Prof.  Jordan  in  his  Forma  Urbis  (p.  9)  abandons  the  opinion 
which  he  had  previously  hehl  (Monatsb.der  Preuss.  Akad.  1867,p.545) 
that  the  plan  had  been  a  pavement,  and  concludes  that  it  was  cer- 
tainly affixed  to  the  wall  in  the  rear  of  the  church.  The  orientation 
he  considers  still  in  doubt,  only  that  it  was  not  a  northward  or  west- 
ward one.  Perhaps  the  difficulties  of  this  question  may  be  most 
nearly  reconciled  by  supposing  the  top  of  the  map  to  have  been  a 
little  south  of  east. 

»  See  Chapter  VIII.  on  the  Sacra  Via,  pp.  284,  304. 


270 


THE  ROMAN  FORUM. 


CHAP. 
VII. 


Forum  of 
Trajan. 


Forum 
Ul})iuni 


Basilica 
Ulpia. 


temple  of  Vicapota  or  Victory. "^^  This  temple 
may  have  been  rebuilt  by  Vespasian,  or  one  of  his 
successors,  at  the  edge  of  the  new  Forum. 

The  Forum  of  Trajan,  the  last  in  date  and  most 
magnificent  in  design  of  all  the  imperial  Fora,  is 
the  only  one  the  plan  of  which  can  be  to  any  great 
extent  traced  from  the  remains  existing^  on  the 
present  ground.  This  has  been  carefully  done  by 
Canina.  The  architect  employed  upon  this  great 
work  was  Apollodorus  of  Damascus.''^^  It  included, 
in  the  first  place,  on  the  side  nearest  to  the  Roman 
Forum,  a  large  open  area,  having  at  the  north- 
east and  south-west  sides  a  semi -circular  termi- 
nation. The  buildino:s  which  bounded  the  semi- 
circle  towards  the  Quirinal  were  constructed 
against  the  side  of  the  hill,  and  remain  in  a  ruined 
condition  to  the  present  day  behind  the  houses  of 
the  modern  Foro  di  Trajano.  It  is  said  that  these 
ruins  were  formerly  known  as  the  Baths  of  Paullus 
Aemilius,  and  that  this  designation  is  preserved  in 
a  corrupted  form  by  the  name  of  the  neighbour- 
ing street,  Via  Magnanapoli.^  Next  to  the  Formn 
Ulpium  was  the  Basilica  Ulpia,  part  of  the  ruins  of 
which  have  been  excavated  in  the  present  centurv. 
This  building  appears  to  have  been  terminated  at 
each  end,  in  the  directions  of  the  Quirinal  and 

■32  Liv.  i.  7  ;  Ascon.  ad  Cic.  in  Pis.  22.  See  Chnpter  VIII.  on  the 
Site  of  the  Velia,  p.  302.  3  dIq  Qr^^^  i^j^,  4^ 

♦  Becker  (Ilandbuch,  i.  382.)  derives  this  from  a  supposed  inscrip- 
tion, Magjianimi  Pauli;  it  conies  more  probably  through  some  verna- 
cular form  o(  Balnea  Pauli^  Bagno  di  Paolo. 


b 


rORUM  ULPIUM. 

Capitol,  with  semi-circular  tribunes,  now  lost 
under  the  modern  debris  and  buildings.'^^  Beyond 
the  basilica  is  the  Column  of  Trajan,  which  indi- 
cates by  its  height  the  level  of  the  soil  removed 
by  the  stupendous  excavations  required  to  unite 
the  older  Fora  with  the  Campus  Martins.^  The 
ashes  of  its  founder  were  deposited  in  a  golden 
urn  under  the  column.'  North-east  and  south- 
west of  the  column  were  two  buildings,  which 
probal)ly  contained  the  Greek  and  Latin  Libraries 
founded  by  the  emperor.^  The  great  temple  dedi- 
cated to  Divus  Trajanus  by  Hadrian  probably 
stood  further  to  the  north-west,  in  the  direction 
of  the  Cam])us  Martins,  where  some  colossal  gra- 
nite pillars  have  been  dug  out  near  the  column. 
There  is  some  evidence  of  the  Forum  of  Trajan 
having  been  commenced  or  designed  in  the  time 
of  Domitian.  The  execution  of  the  work  pro- 
bably occupied  the  whole  period  of  Trajan's  reign, 
A.i).  98-117.' 

There  are  two  local  names  connected  with  the 
neighbourhood  of  the  Roman  Forum  on  the  north- 

■"  See  before,  p.  256. 

*  SENATVS.POPVLVSQVE.ROMANVS  IMP.CAESARI.dIvI.NERVAE.F.NER- 
VAE  TRAIANO.AVQ.GERM.DACICO.PONTIF  MAXIMO.TRIB.POT.X  VII.IMP. 
VI.COS.Vl.P.P  AD.DECLARANDVM.QVANTAE.ALTITVDINIS  MONS.ET. 

locvs.tan[tis.oper]ibvs.sit.egestvs  Inscription  on  Trajan  Column. 
See  also  Dio  Cass.  Ixviii.  16. 

^  Dio  Cass.  Ixix.  2. 

«  Dio  Cass.  Ixviii.  I6  ;  Gell.  xi.  17.  One  of  these  buildings  appears 
upon  a  fragment  of  the  Capitoline  plan. 

•^  Adhuc  Ko!nae  a  Domitiano  coepta  fora  atque  alia  multa  plus- 
(juam  magnifice  coluit  Aurelius  Victor,  Caes.  13.  Ilieron.  i.  443? 
Spart.  Uadr.  19.    (Becker,  Ilandbuch,  i.  379,  380.) 


271 


CHAP. 
VII. 


Column  of 
Trajan. 


Ulpian 
Libraries. 


Temple  of 
Trajan. 


Lantolar, 

Lavtu- 

viiae. 


272 


CHAP 
VIL 


Lautolae 
at  Janus 
(ieniinus. 

Hot 

springs  at 
Janus. 


Vi'lahi'uvi 
minus. 


Lautulus 
in  the  (yji- 
rinac,  qu. 


THE  ROMAN  FOIIUM. 

eastern  side,  wliicli  ought  not  to  pass  altogetlier 
without  notice. 

The  word  Lautolae  appears   in  the   pages  of 
Varro  as  the  name  of  a  locality  close  to  the  Janus 
Geniinus  ;  and  its  etymology,  lautolae  a  lavando, 
is   associated  by    that  author  with  the  tradition 
of  hot  springs  having  once  existed  at  the  spot.^^^ 
The  same   tradition  is  alluded  to   in  the    story 
which  Ovid  tells  of  the  god  Janus  having  repulsed 
the  Sabines  at  his  gate  by  an  outburst  of  sulphu- 
reous waters.^     Connected  with  this  spring  there 
was,  according  to  Yarro,  in  ancient  times  a  marsh 
called  the  lesser  Velabrum,  as  the  larger  extent 
of  marshy  ground  on  the  other  side  of  the  Forum 
near   the  Circus    Maximus    was   known   as   the 
Greater  Velabrum. 

Later  authors  have  attached  the  name  of 
Lautulus  to  a  different  locality.  The  epithet 
lautae  applied  by  Virgil  to  the  district  called 
Carinae^  seems  to  have  led  Servius,  or  some 
preceding  interpreter  of  the  poet,  to  place  the 
Lautulus,  and  the  scene  of  the  miraculous  repulse 
of  the  Sa])ines,  in  tliat  district  f  although  in 
another  passage  Servius  tells  the  story  in  connec- 

'*'  Lautolae  a  lavando,  quod  ibi  ad  lanum  Geminum  aquae  ealdae 
fuerunt.     Ab  his  palus  fuit  in  minore  Velabro,  a  quo,  quod  ibi  vehe- 
bantur  lintribus,  Velabrum,  ut  illud  maius,  de  quo  supra  dictum  est 
Varro,  L.  L.  v.  32  (43). 

'  See  before,  p.  224.  ^  Virg.  Aen.  viii.  360.     (Note  2.) 

'  Lautae  Carinae.  Alii,  quod  Romani  Sabinis  instanlibus  fu-n-en- 
tes  eruptione  aquae  ferventis  et  ipsi  liberati,  et  hostes  ab  insequ'endo 
rcpressi :  aut  quia  calida  aqua  lavandis  vulneribus  apta  fuit,  locus 
Lautulus  appellatus  est.     Servius  ad  Virg.  Aen.  viii.  3(51. 


4 
I 


.1 


li 


LAUTOLAE. 


273 


Janus. 


tion  with  the  locality  of  the  Tem))le  of  Janus,  chap. 
which  in  his  time  was  undoul)tedlv  in  the  Forum.'^^  — 
We  have  seen  that  Macrobius  relates  the  same 
miracle  as  having  occurred  at  a  gate,  afterwards 
called  Porta  Janualis,  at  the  foot  of  the  Viminal 
Hill/  And  Paulus  Diaconus  describes  Latidae 
as  a  place  outside  the  city.^ 

Becker  has  concluded  that  the  real  situation  of  Beckers 

4-1         T         J.    1  1  1         >^      .  opinion  as 

the  Lautolae  was  under  the  Carmae,  and  thinks  to  the  site 
it  probable  that  the  original  Janus  Geminus  of  toiae'^and"" 
Numa  was  there,  though  afterwards  rebuilt  on 
the  Forum  ;  and  that  Livy's  Janus  ad  infimum 
Arglleium  and  Varro's  description  of  the  objects 
in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  Janus  Geminus  refer  site  of  the 
to  the  former  site.'     The  connection  established  AvfiUf. 
by  Martial  between  the  Argiletum  and  the  Sub- 
urra   appears   to   be   Becker's    chief  reason    for 
looking  in  this  direction  for  the  infimum  Arglle- 
ium,    It  should  be  remembered,  however,  that, 
by  the  testimony  of  Martial,  the  Argiletum  appears 
to  have  extended  westward   as  far  as  the  Forum 
of  Caesar;^  and  tlie  infimum  Argiletum   would 
be  found  rather  in  the  low  ground  near  the  Forum 
than  at  the  foot  of  the  Viminal  Hill,  where  Ma- 
crobius places  his   Porta  Janualis,  which  latter 
situation  w^ould  l)e  rather  described  as  summum 

'"  Servius  ad  Virg.  Aen.  i.  (Note  612.) 
*  Macrob.  i.  9.  (Note  615.) 

^  Latulae,   locus   extra   urbem.     Paulus  Diaconus,  in  Fest.    ed. 
Mlill.p   118.  ^  Becker,  Handbuch,  i.  352. 

«  Mart.  Ep.  i.  118,  9;  ii.  17.     See  before,  pp.  245,  246. 


|i 


274 


THE  ROMAN  FORUM. 


CHAP. 
VII. 


Prison  of 

Latitu- 

miae. 


ArgileUim,  If  this  be  so,  Livy's  Janus  at  least 
is  the  Janus  of  the  Forum.  It  is  of  course  ad- 
mitted that  Ovid's  tale  of  the  Janus  Gateway 
and  miraculous  spring  has  most  distinctly  its 
*' local  habitation"  at  the  foot  of  the  Capitol.'^^ 
And  it  is  to  be  observed  that  Varro  srives  his  ex- 
planation  of  the  word  Lautolae  among  a  group  of 
terms  connected  with  the  objects  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  the  Forum.  It  can  scarcely  be  denied 
that  the  impression  left  on  our  minds  by  the  older 
writers  is  exclusively  in  favour  of  this  locality  ; 
and  if  we  transfer  the  earliest  Janus  and  the  Lau- 
tolae to  the  Carinae,  or  to  the  foot  of  the  Viminal 
Hill,  we  must  abandon  the  impressions  derived 
from  Varro,  Livy,  and  Ovid  in  deference  to  the 
authority  of  Servius  and  Macrobius. 

The  prison  called  Lautumiae  is  noticed  by 
Varro  in  immediate  association  with  the  prison  of 
the  Kings.  He  connects  its  name  with  the  Lato- 
miae  of  Syracuse,  and  also  with  the  supposed 
pre-existence  of  a  stone  quarry  on  its  site.^^  The 
latter  supposition,  whether  founded  on  fact  or 
not,  would  lead  us  to  place  it  at  the  foot  of  one  of 
the  hills,  but  its  site  is  not  otherwise  known. 
Livy  mentions  it  in  reference  to  the  detention 
of  hostages  and  prisoners  ofwar.^     It  appears  to 

•*3  Ovid.  Fast.  i.  261.     (Note  614.) 

^"  Career  a  coercendo  .  .  .  Quod  Syracusis,  ubi  simili  de  causa  cus- 
todiuntur,  vocantur  Latomiae,  et  de  Lautumiis  translatum,  quod  hie 
quoque  in  eo  loco  lapidiclnae  fuerunt.     Varro,  L.  L.  v.  32  (42). 

'  Liv.  xxxii.  26;  xxxvii.  3. 


LAUTOLAE  AND  LAUTUMIAE. 


275 


have  been  a  less  rigorous  prison  than  the  Career,    ^^'^^• 
for  when  Julius  Sabinus  was  brought  from   the      — 
Career  before  the  Senate,  he  begged,  as  an  in- 
dulgence, to  be  transferred  to  the  Lautumiae. '^^ 

The  word  Lautumiae  also  occurs  in  Livv,  and  I  Locality 

^  ^         ^  called 

believe  in  Livy  only,  in  another  sense,  designating  Lautu- 
a  locality  in  Rome.  The  atria  bought  as  part  of 
the  site  of  the  Basilica  Porcia  are  said  to  have 
been  in  Lautumiis,^  And  in  another  place  the 
same  historian  speaks  of  a  fire  in  which  the  Lau- 
tumiae w^ere  involved.^  The  latter  passage  may 
either  refer  to  the  prison,  or  to  the  locality  in 
which  the  atria  above  mentioned  Avere  situated. 
This  localitv  must  have  been  at  the  back  or  side 
of  the  Basilica  Porcia,  supposing  that  monument 
to  have  fiiced   the  Forum.     But,  as  the  Janus  Lautumiae 

.,.        r       T  X  1         ^^^  Lau- 

Geminus  adjoined    this    basilica,    the    Lautolae  toiae  the 

-^  ,  same  place. 

of  Varro,  which  were  close  to  the  Janus,  but  are 
not  spoken  of  as  in  the  Forum,  must  also  have 
been  at  the  side  of  the  basilica.  This  seems  to 
lend  considerable  probability  to  the  supposition  of 
Canina,  that  the  place  called  Lautumiae,  in  the 
passage  of  Livy  relating  to  the  Basilica  Porcia,  is 
the  same  as  that  called  Lautolae  by  Varro.^ 

--2  Seneca,  Controv.  27.  '  Liv.  xxxix.  44.  (Note  594.) 

*  Liv.  xxvi.  27.  (Note  135.)  ^  See  before,  p.  231. 

6  Canina,  Foro  Romano,  pp.  267,  319. 


t2 


SACRA  VIA. 


277 


CHAP. 
VIII. 


Sacra  Via 


Suinma 
Sacra  Via. 


Origin  of 
the  name. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

THE  SACRA  VIA  AND  THE  VELfA. 

The  Roman  antiquaries  inform  us  that  the  term 
Sacred  Way   was    applicable   to  a  road  leadinij 
from  the  Sacellum  of  the  goddess  Strenia,  in  or 
near  the  Carinae,  to  the  Capitoline  citadel  ;  but 
that  in  its  ordinary  use  it  was  understood  only  of 
a  part  of  the  route,  namely,  the  slope  between  the 
Regia  at  the  end  of  the  Forum  and  the  top  of 
the  first  ascent,  where  was  the  house  of  the  Rex 
Sacrificulus.'^'     This  highest  point  of  the  Sacred 
Way  (in  its  ordinary  and  more  restricted  sense) 
w^as  known  by  the  name  of  Summa  Sacra  Via. 

The  origin  of  the  name  Sacred  Way  was 
variously  explained.  Popular  tradition  seems  to 
have  connected  it,  like  so  many  other  localities  of 
the  neighbourhood  of  the  Forum,  with  the  story  of 

"'  Ceroliensis  aCarinarum  iunctu  dictus  Carinae,  postea  Cerionia 
quod  hmc  oritur  caput  Sacrae  viae  ab  Streniae  sacello,  quae  perti-' 
net  in  arceni,  qua  sacra  quotquot  mensibus  feruntur  in  arceni   et  per 
quam  augures  ex  arce  profecti  solent  inau-urare.     Huius  Sacrae 
viae  pars  haec  sola  volgo  nota  quae  est  a  foro  eunti  primore  clivo 
Varro,  L.  L.  v.  8  (15). 

Sacram  viam  quidam  appellatam  esse  existlmant,  quod  in  ea 
toedus  ictuni  sit  inter  Romulum  ac  Tatium  :  quidam  quod  co  itinere 
utentur  sacerdotes  idulium  sacrorun,  conficiendorum  causa.  Itaque 
ne  eatenus  quidem,  ut  vulgus  opinatur,  Sacra  appellanda  est  a  Re-ia 
ad  domum  Regis  Sacrificuli,  sed  etiam  a  Regis  domo  ad  sacellum 
btren.ae,  et  rursus  a  Regia  usque  in  arcem.     Festus,  ed.  MUll.  290 


'il 


^ 


Romulus  and  Tatius,  who  were  said  to  have  made     chap. 
in  the  middle   of  this  road   their    solemn  peace      ^— 
after  the  battle  in  the  Forum.'^^    Virgil  places  the  ^nd^tfu. 
scene  of  this  treaty  before  the  altar  of  Jupiter, 
perhaps  in  anticipation  of  the  Temple  of  Stator. 

Inter  se  posito  certamine,  rcges 
Armati  lovis  ante  arani  paterasque  tenentes 
Stabant,  et  caesa  iuni^^ebant  foedera  porca." 

And  Servius  asserts  that  in  memory  of  this  event 
the  images  of  the  two  kings  stood  in  the  Sacred 
Way,  Romulus  towards  the  Palatine,  and  Tatius 
as  you  came  from  the  Rostra.^"  These  were  pro- 
bably l)y  the  Stator  temple.  The  Roman  anti-  Procession 
quaries  rather  derived  the  name  from  the  use  of  Wuiia. 
this  road  by  the  priests  in  the  solemnities  of  the 
festival  in  honour  of  Jupiter,  which  took  place  on 
the  Ides  of  every  month.  The  procession  on  this 
occasion  seems  to  have  passed  from  the  Sacellum 
of  Strenia  to  the  Arx,  and  the  whole  of  this  route 
was  therefore  accounted  sacred.  According  to 
Varro,  the  Augurs  took  this  way  when  they  left 
the  Arx  to  perform  the  ceremony  of  inauguration.^ 

•^  The  same  story  was  told  of  the  origin  of  the  Coraitium.  See 
})efore,  p.  145. 

"  Aen.  viii.  639. 

""  lavra  ufiotravTeg  kui  fiojfiovg  tin  Toig  opKOiq  iCpvrrafievoi  Kara  fit<TT]v 
lici\i(Tra  T})v  KaXovfxiviiv  iepav  ocitv  (TVi'^KpaOrjaav  d\\i)\oic.  Dionys. 
ii.  46.     Id.  ii.  50.     (Note  468.) 

Kai  (TvveXOuPTfg  'PojpvXog  rf  Kai  Tariog  elg  ti)v  t^  tKeivov  itpdv  KaXov- 
ptvi]i'  ocov^  ktX.     Appian.  Frag.  i.  4. 

Huius  autem  facti  in  Sacra  via  signa  stant,  Romulus  ex  parte 
Palatii,  Tatius  venientibus  a  Rostris.     Serv.  ad  Aen.  viii.  641. 

'  Varro,  L.  L.  v.  8  (14)  ;  Festus,  ed.  Mull.  290.  (Note  757.) 


278 


CHAP. 
VIII. 


Three 
divisions 
of  the  Sa- 
cra Via. 


First  di- 
vision in 
the  Forum 


THE  ROMAN  FORUM. 

The  Sacred  Way,  in  the  larger  acceptation  of 
the  term,  is  thus  divided  into  three  distinct  por- 
tions, the  first  extending  from  the  citadel  to  the 
Regia  ;  the  second  (the  Sacra  Via  as  ordinarily 
understood),  from  the  latter  spot  to  the  Smiima 
Sacra  Via  ;  the  third,  from  the  Smnma  Sacra  Via 
to  the  Sacellum  Streniae. 

The  first  portion  of  the  Sacred  Way  has  been 
already  described  in  the  chapters  on  the  Forum. 
It  entered  that  area  by  the  Arch  of  Fabius,  close 
to  the  Regia,  and  proba])ly  shortly  after  passed 
under  the  Arch  of  Augustus.  Its  further  progi'ess 
may  be  traced  on  the  spot.    It  crossed  the  Forum 
in  front  of  the  Temple  of  Jidius  ;  it  turned  again 
towards  the  Capitol  before  the  Temple  of  Castor, 
and,  continuing   in    front    of  the   Basilica  Julia, 
passed  under  the  triumphal  arch  of  Tiberius  ;  it 
was  then  carried  by  the  zigzag  route  called  the 
Clivus  Capitolinus  into  the  Citadel.     But  it  must 
be  remembered  that  it  is  only  in  deference  to  the 
nomenclature  of  the  ancient  antiquaries  that  the 
name  of  Sacra  Via  is  given  to  this  route.     It  was 
not  in  fiict  known  by  that  name.     The   hill  lead- 
ing up  to  the  capitol  was  the  Clivus  Capitolinus  ; 
the  road  through  the  Forum  does  not  appear  to 
have  had  in  ordinary  language  any  distinct  name.'' 


762 


'«2  There  is  a  passage  of  Pliny  in  which  he  speaks  of  some  part  at 
least  of  the  road  from  the  Regia  to  the  Capitoline  ascent  as  the  Via 
Sacra.  Mox  Caesar  dictator  totum  forum  Romanum  intexit  viamque 
Sacram  ab  domo  sua  ad  clivum  usque  Capitolinum.     Plin.  N.  H. 


■( 


!l 


TEMPLE  OF  FAUSTINA. 

The  Sacred  Way  commonly  so  called,  the  Sa- 
cred Way  of  the  Roman  poets,  orators,  and  histo- 
rians, was  the  route  from  the  Regia  to  the  Summa 
Sacra  Via.  The  whole  extent  of  this  famous  road 
is  only  about  an  eighth  of  a  mile.  Leaving  the 
Forum  at  the  Arch  of  Fabius  its  course  ran  in  a 
direction  rather  south  of  east. 

The  first  building  on  the  right  hand  was  the 
Regia,  the  topography  of  which  has  been  already 
discussed.'^^  The  site  which  has  been  assio-ned  to 
this  monument  is  opposite  to  the  Church  of  S. 
Lorenzo  in  Miranda,  constructed  on  the  ruins  of 
the  Temple  of  Antoninus  and  Faustina.  Of  this 
tem])le  the  hexastyle  Corinthian  portico  remains 
almost  entire,  with  ten  monolithic  columns  of  the 
marble  called  Cipolino,  and  a  frieze  of  white 
marble  adorned  with  griffins  and  candelabra. 
The  entablature  is  inscribed  in  two  lines  : 

DIVO  .  ANTONINO  .  ET 
DIVAE  .  FAVSTIXAE  .  EX.    S.  C. 

The  u])per  line  has  rather  the  appearance  of 
subsequent  addition,  and  the  temple  was  probably 
built  by  Antoninus  Pius  in  honour  of  liis  wife 
Faustina,  who  died  a.d.  141,*  though  some  doubt 

xix.  6.  Between  the  time  of  Caesar  and  Pliny  the  Sacred  Way,  as 
distinct  from  the  Forum,  had  been  extended  by  the  building  of  the 
Temple  of  Julius. 

'«3  See  pp.  118—125. 

♦  Tertio  anno  imperii  sui  Faustinam  uxorem  perdidit,  quae  a 
Senatu  consecrata  est,  delatis  circencibus,  curribus,  atque  templo,  et 
flaminicls,  et  statuis  aureis  et  argenteis.    Capitolinus,  Ant.  P.  6.    One 


279 


chap. 

VIII. 


Second  di- 
vision, the 
Sacra  Via 
of  classic 
authors. 


Regia. 


Temple  of 
Faustina. 


280 


CHAP. 
VIII. 


Nova  Via, 


Temple  of 

Jupiter 

Stator. 


THE  ROMAN  FORUM. 

lias  arisen  upon  its  attribution,  inasmuch  as  her 
daughter  the  younger  Faustina  and  her  husband 
M.  Aurelius  Antoninus  (called  M.  Antoninus  on 
his  later  coins)  were  also  deified. 

At  the  eastern  corner  of  the  Re2:ia  the  Nova 
Via  probably  l)ranched  off  to  the  right,  leading 
in  a  short  distance  to  the  Porta  Mugionia  at  the 
north  corner  of  the  Palatine.'"^ 

At  the  commencement  of  the  Sacred  Way,  as 
we  learn  from  Plutarch,  stood  the  Temple  of 
Jupiter  Stator,  which  was  prol)ably  on  the  eastern 
side  of  the  Nova  Via,  facing  the  Regia  and  the 
Capitol.^'  Tliis  temple  was  of  considerable  size. 
In  its  cell  the  Senate  was  convened  to  hear 
Cicero's  denunciation  of  Catiline.  The  orator's 
expression, —  hie  munitissimus  habendi  Senatus 
locus,' — seems  to  imply  that  it  offered  greater 
facilities  for  defence  than  the  Curia,  partly  per- 
haps because  it  was  not  open  to  the  Forum,  lacing 
separated  from  it  by  a  narrow  street,  which  rose 
in  the  direction  of  the  temple,  in  front  of  which 
there  appears  to  have  been  a  small  open  Place,^ 
probably  on  this  occasion  occupied  by  the  consul's 

of  the  medals  of  Faustina  exhibits  a  hexastyie  temple  with  the  legend 

DEDICATIO  .  AEDIS. 

■«^  See  Chapter  IX. 

«  'O  KiKspiov  kicdXH  Tyv  ffvyK\t)Tov  tig  to  tov  ^rrjffiov  Awq  lepdv^  ov 
^TdTU)pa  'Pw/iaTot  KaXoumv^  icpvfitvov  tp  dpxy  t7iq  npciQ  oSov  irpbg  to 
UaXiiTiov  dvwvTMv.  .  .  .  Plutarch.  Cic.  16.  The  site  of  the  Temple 
of  Stator  is  further  discussed,  in  connection  with  the  Poita  Mugionia 
and  the  Nova  Via,  in  Chapter  IX,  pp.  31 1—318. 

■  Cic.  in  Cat.  i.  1.  «  See  p.  321. 


mi 


K 


ii 


CHAP. 

Vlll. 


TEMPLE  OF  STATOR.  2S1 

supporters.  In  the  time  of  Vitruvius  it  was  a 
peripteral  tem])le  with  six  columns  in  front  and 
eleven  at  the  side.  If,  as  is  now  generally  be- 
lieved, Vitruvius'  book  is  of  the  time  of  Augustus, 
the  temple  so  described  was  burnt  down  in  the 
great  fire  of  the  reign  of  Nero.'*'' 

On  the  left,  in  ascendino;  the  Sacred  Way,  was  Temple  of 
a  small  round  temple,  which  still  exists,  and 
forms  a  vestibule  to  the  Church  of  SS.  Cosmas 
and  Damian.  This  monument  appears  to  have 
been  long  traditionally  known  as  the  Temjile  of 
Romulus,'"  and  has  been  identitied  with  great  pro- 
bability as  a  temple  consecrated  l)y  the  emperor 
Maxentius  to  his  son  Romulus,  who  died  before 
him.^     A  coin  struck  in  honour  of  Divus  Eomulus 

•«»  Tac.  Ann.  xv.  41.  (Note  290.) 

■*•  Qui  basilicam  SS.  Cosniae  et  Damiani  martyrum  via  Sacra  iuxta 
templum  lioniuli,  sicut  hactenus  cernitur,  venustissime  fabricavit. 
loh.  Diaconus  in  Vita  S.  Grcjiorii,  i.  1. 

Hie  fecit  basilicam  sanctorum  Co.^^mae  ^t  Damiani  in  urbe  Ronra 
in  loco  qui  appellatur  via  Sacra  iuxta  templum  Ilomuli.  Anastas. 
in  vita  papae  Felicis  IV. 

S.  Laurentius  de  IVIirandi ;  juxta  eum,  ecclesia  S.  Cosme,  que  fuit 
templum  Asili ;  retro  fuit  templum  Pucis  et  Latone;  super  idem 
templum  Komuli.     Mirnbilia  Urbis  Rome,  Jordan,  Topogr.  ii.  636. 

Ascendit  ante  asylum  jjcr  silicem  ubi  cecidit  Simon  Magus  iuxta 
templum  Ilomuli,  pergit  sub  arcu  triumphali  Titi,  etc.  Proces- 
sionale  in  Mabilloii,  Museum  Italicum,  j).  294. 

'  See  a  monograjjh  by  Signor  de  Rossi  in  the  Bulletino  Christiano 
for  1867,  p.  6G,  accompanied  by  a  sketch  of  the  elevation  and  plan 
of  this  edifice,  by  Ligorio,  from  the  Vat.  Cod.  3439,  p.  40.  Over 
the  drawing  is  written,  by  the  same  hand,  or  that  of  Pauvinius, 
SS.  Cosma  et  Dantiano,  Imp.  Caes.  Avgvstvs  iNIaximvs  Trivmph., 
ita  ub  alio  latere.  Pivs  Felix  Avgvstvs  in  medio.  These  inscrip- 
tions appear  by  the  drawing  to  have  been  upon  the  ontal>laturc  of 
the  temple,  and  confirm  the  identification  of  thf»  building.  Sco  Aur. 
Vict.  Caes.  40.  (Note  774.) 


9 


282 


CHAP. 
VIII. 


Lane  lead- 
in}^  to  the 
Ctirinae, 
by  the 
Velia. 


Basilica  of 

C\)nstan- 

tine, 


not  on  the 
site  of  the 
Temple  of 
Peace. 


THE  ROMAN  FORUM. 

has  on  its  reverse  the  representation  of  a  cir- 
cular temple. 

To  the  east  of  this  temple  a  lane  appears  to 
have  branched  off  to  the  left,  forming  a  shorter 
route  to  the  Carinae,  which  were  reached  in  this 
direction  by  crossing  the  north-western  base  of 
the  hill  called  Velia.  Traces  of  the  lava  pave- 
ment of  this  lane  may  l)e  seen  to  the  south- 
east of  the  church  of  SS.  Cosmas  and  Damian, 
at  the  foot  of  a  wall  of  ancient  masonry  which 
appears  to  have  belonged  to  some  building  con- 
nected with  the  Forum  of  Peace.' '^ 

Further  on,  upon  the  same  side  of  the  Sacra  Via, 
was  the  great  basilica  erected  by  Maxentius  and 
named  after  Constantino,*  of  which  the  ponderous 
ruins  remain.  The  last  column  was  removed 
from  this  basilica  by  Pope  Paul  V.  to  tlie  Piazza 
of  Santa  Maria  Maggiore,  where  it  may  still  be 
seen.  The  basilica  extends  as  far  as  the  top  of 
the  street.  These  ruins  were  called  in  the  last 
century  the  Temple  of  Peace,  and  the  modern 
street  behind  them  now  bears  that  name.  Piranesi 
pointed  out  how  unlike  they  were  to  a  temple,^ 
and  Nibby  identified  them  with  the  Basilica  of 
Constantino.*^  This  identification  does  not  ex- 
clude the  possibility  that  the  site  is  that  of  the 

"3  See  pp.  268,  303. 

*  Cuncta  opera  quae  magnifice  construxerat  (Maxentius),  Ilrbis 
fanum  atque  Basilicam,  Flavii  meritis  Patres  sacravere.  Aurelius 
Victor,  Caes.  40.  • 

^  Piranesi,  Le  Antieh.  Rom.  35. 

•^  Nibby,  Foro  Romano,  p.  189. 


(I 


I. 


I  i 


H 


BASILICA  OF  CONSTANTINE. 

Temple  of  Peace,  which  was  destroyed  by  fire  in 
the  reign  of  Commodus.'"  But  there  is  no  ancient 
authority  for  placing  that  temple  in  the  Sacred 
Way,  and  if  it  had  l^een  situated  upon  that  route 
it  would  probably  have  been  so  described.  On 
the  other  hand  there  is  some  evidence  that  the 
Basilica  of  Constantino  occupied  the  site  of  a 
building  of  the  emperor  Domitian,  called  the 
Spice  Warehouses,  which  appears  to  have  been 
burnt  down  at  the  same  time  as  the  Temple  of 
Peace.^  Before  the  Basilica  of  Constantino  the 
lava  pavement  of  the  Sacred  Way  is  now  visible 
for  some  distance,  until  it  is  lost  under  the  church 
of  Santa  Maria  Nuova,  the  front  of  which  stands 
upon  the  Summa  Sacra  Via. 

The  south  side  of  the  road,  opposite  the  Basi- 
lica, has  not  been  excavated,  and  it  is  not  known 
what  buildings  were  upon  it  a])ove  the  Temple 
of  Stator.  A  lane  branched  out  of  the  middle 
of  this  side  of  the  Sacra  Via  into  the  Palatine, 
since  Asconius  tells  us  that  the  house  of  Scaurus, 
the  step-son  of  Sulla,  Avas  in  that  part  of  the 
Palatine  which  was  reached  hy  going  down  the 

"'  Tlrp  Tt  vvKTwp  dpOtv  i^  oliciag  rivug  Kai  elg  to  ElprivaJop  tfnriffuv  rag 
aTroOt'iKcig  ruiv  re  AiyvTrritov  Kai  ruiv  'Apaf3iwv  (popriwv  tTreveifxaTO,  tg  re 
TO  naXuTwv  fitTeiopiaetv  ti'(TJ)\0f,  kuI  ttoXXu  iravv  aiiTov  KOTtKuvaev,  uktt^ 
Kai  Til  ypafjfiaTa  tu  Tg  dpxy  TrpoatjKOVTa  oXIyov  ^eTv  irdvTa  (pOaprfvai.  Dio 
Cass.  Ixxii.  24.     llerodian,  i.  14.     See  before,  p.  267. 

"  Dio  Cass.  Ixxii.  24.  (Xote  777.)  Domitlanus  .  .  .  horrea  pipera- 
taria,  ubi  modo  est  Basilica  Constantiniana,  et  forum  Vespasiani. 
Catal.  Imp.  Vienn.  243.  Rone.  Hicron.  i.  443  Rone.  (Becker,  iiand- 
buch,  i.  379,  443.) 


283 


CHAP. 
VIII. 


Jlorrea 
P'lpcra- 
tnria. 


Summa 
Sacra  Via. 


South  side 
of  the 
Sacra  Via. 


House  of 

Crassus, 

Scaurus, 

Clodius, 

and  Cae- 

cina. 


284 


CHAP. 
Vlll. 


THE  ROMAN  FORUM. 

Sacred  Way  and  proceeding  by  tlie  nearest  lane 
to  the  lef't.''^  This  magnificent  liouse  appears  to 
have  l)een  the  same  as  that  which  had  formerly 
helonofed  to  the  orator  Crassiis,  famous  for  its 
beautiful  lotos  trees  and  for  its  atrium  adorned 
with  four  columns  of  marble  of  Hymettus,  which 
were  replaced  in  the  time  of  Scaurus  by  marble 
columns  of  a  much  larger  size.^"  An  adjoining 
house  had  l)een  built  by  Cn.  Octavius,  Consul 
B.C.  165,  and  had  l)een  thought  so  magnificent  as 
to  assist  his  pretensions  to  the  first  consulate  held 
by  his  fixmily.  This  w\as  acquired  and  pulled  down 
by  Scaurus,  and  the  space  added  to  his  own  man- 
sion.^ It  was  probably  the  same  house  which 
was  purchased  by  P.  Clodius  from  Scaurus  a 
few  months  l)efore  the  death  of  the  former,^  and 
for  which  he  gave  14,800,000  sesterces,  an  extra- 
vagance worthy  of  being  compared,  according  to 
Pliny,   with  the  folly  of  kings.^     The  palace  of 

""  Demonstrasse  vobis  memini  me,  hane  domum  in  ea  parte  Palatii 
esse,  quae  cum  ab  Sacra  via  descenderis  et  per  proximum  vicum  qui 
est  ab  sinistra  parte  prodieris  posita  est.  Possidet  eam  nunc  Largus 
Caecina,  qui  consul  fuit  cumClaudio.  In  liuius  domus  atrio  fuerunt 
quatuorcolumnaemarmoreae  insigni  magnitudine.  Asconius  ad  Cic.  p. 
Seauro. 

**»  Plin.  N.  H.  xxxvi.  2,  3. 

'  Cn.  Octavio  qui  primus  ex  ea  familia  consul  factus  est,  Iionori 
fuisse  accepimus  (juod  praeclaram  aedificasset  in  Palatio  et  plenam 
dignitatis  domum,  quae  quum  vulgo  viseretur,  suffragata  domino 
novo  homini  ad  consulatum  putabatur.  Hunc  Scaurus  demolitus 
accessionem  adiunxit  aedibus.     Cic.  Of!',  i.  39. 

-  Erat  domus  Clodii  ante  paucos  menses  empta  de  jM.  Seauro  in 
Palatio.     Ascon.  arg.  ad  Cic.  pro  Mil. 

^  Plin.  N.  H.  xxxiv.  24,  2. 


HOUSES  OF  CRASSUS  AND  CICERO. 


285 


U 


' 


\\ 


li 


Scaurus    was  at  a   later  date  in  the    possession     chap. 

vin. 
of  C.  Caecina  Largus,  consul  with  the    Emperor       — 

Claudius,  A.D.  42,  who  in  Pliny's  youth  used  to  take 

a  pride  in  showing  the  lotos-trees  of  Crassus.'^^ 

It  is  in  this  i)art  of  the  Palatine  that  we  must  "^"^^  ""^ 

*■  Cicero. 

place  the  house  of  Cicero,   which   conmianded  a 
view  of  the  city,  and  was  approached  from  the 
Forum  by  the  Sacred  Way."     It  appears  to  have 
])een  in  the  direction  of  the  Regia,  since  Cicero 
was  alluded  to  by  Vettius,  in   his  denunciations 
from  the  Rostra,  as  a  neighbour  of  the   consul, 
that   is  apparently   of    Caesar.'      Cicero's    house 
was  bought  by  him  from  one  of  the  family  of 
Crassus,*^   Init    was    not    the    house    of    Crassus 
the    orator.       It   had   been    built   by    M.   Livius 
Drusus,  the    Tribune,  and  seems   to  have    been 
the  same  house  of  which  the  story  is  told,  that, 
when    the  architect  suggested  a  plan  by  which 
it  might  be  less  overlooked  from  the  neighbour- 
hood, Drusus  told  him  rather  to  make  it  all  open 
to  view,  so  that  his  fellow -citizens  might  see  what 
was  the  life  he  led.     After  Cicero's  death  it  be- 
longed to  Censorinus.     It  was  not  absorbed    in 
the  buildings  of  Augustus,   ))ut   in    the  time  of 

^"  Asconius  ad  Cic.  p.  Seauro  (Note  779);  Plin.  N.  II.  xvii.  1. 

"  In  conspectu  praeterea  totius  urbis  domus  est  mea.  Cic.  pro 
domo  sua,  37.  Id.  Har.  Resp.  8,  33.  (Notes  791,  832.)  Plutarch. 
Cic.  22.  (Note  18) 

'  Me  non  nominavit,  sed  dixit  consularem  disertum,  vicinum  con- 
sulis,  sibi  dixisse,  Ahalam  Servilium  aliquem  aut  Brutum  opus  esse 
reperiri.     Cic.  ad  Attic,  ii.  24. 

*  Cic.  Ep.  ad  fam.  v.  6. 


286 


THE  ROMAN  FORUM. 


CLIVUS  SACER. 


287 


CHAP. 

vni. 


89 


House  of 
Catiline. 


Honse  of 
Clodius. 


Regions  of 
the  Sacra 
Via  and 
the  Pala- 
tine. 


Paterculus  was  the  property  of  Statiliiis  Sisenna.' 

The  house  of  Catiline,  which  was  also  in  this 
neighbourhood,  was  included  in  the  palace  of 
Augustus. ^*^ 

Inimediatelv  above  the  house  of  Cicero,  on  the 
slope  of  the  hill,  was  the  mansion  of  Clodius,  a 
different  house  apparently  from  that  already  men- 
tioned as  purchased  shortly  before  his  death. 
Cicero  threatens,  in  a  flourish  of  oratory,  to  raise 
his  own  roof  so  that  Clodius  may  not  have  a  view 
of  the  city  he  desired  to  destroy.  It  appears  that 
his  life  had  been  attempted  by  Clodius  not  far 
from  this  spot.^ 

It  is  probable  that  the  Augustan  division  of 
Regions  followed  on  this  ground  the  traditional 
boundary  of  the  Palatine  city  The  Sacra  Via  and 
the  buildings  upon  it,  including  the  Temple  of 
Jupiter  Stator,  and  probably  the  other  monuments 
on  the  south  side  of  the  street,  were  included  in 
the  fourth  Region  with  the  Forum  of  Peace  and 
the  Sul)urra  ;  but  the  district  lying  south  of  the 
Sacred  Way  beyond  the  buildings  actually  abut- 
ting upon  it  was  considered  to  be  a  part  of  the 
Palatine,  which  constituted  the  tenth  Res-ion. 

o 

^*^  Plutarch.  Reip.  gerend.  praecepta,  ed  Reiske,  p.  194;  Velleius 
Paterc.  ii.  14.  s"  Sueton.  de  Gram.  17. 

^  Tollam  altius  tectum  ;  non  ut  ego  te  despiciam,  sed  ne  tu 
aspicias  urbem  earn  quam  delere  voluistl.  Cic.  Har.  Resp.  33. 
Haec  intentata  nobis  est,  haec  eadem,  longo  intervailo  conversa 
rursus  est  in  me ;  nuper  quidem,  ut  scitis,  me  ad  Regiam  poene  con- 
fecit.     Cic.  p.  Mil.  14. 


'  -I 


.! 


i  I 


The  Sacred  Way,  as  it  was  onVinallv  formed, 
lay  in  a  natural  hollow  between  the  Palatine  hill 
on  the  one  side  and  the  steep  ascent  of  the  Velia 
on  the  other,  l)eing  the  easiest  route  from  the  low 
ground  of  the  Forum  to  the  ridge  which  united 
these  two  hills.  Its  whole  course  was  a  slope  of 
rather  rapid  incline.  Hence  Horace^s  expression 
m  allusion  to  the  triumphs  which  passed  down  the 
Sacred  Way  towards  the  Capitol : 

Intactus  aut  Britannus  ut  descenderet 
Sacra  catenatus  via.'*** 

Hence  also  the  synonym,  sacer  dims,  used  by 
Horace  and  Martial. 

Concines  maiore  poeta  plectro 
Caesarem,  quandoque  trahet  feroces 
Per  sacrum  clivum,  merita  decorus 
Fronde,  Sygambros.^ 

The  steepest  part  of  the  ascent  was  before  the 
round  temple  which  has  been  identified  as  that  of 
Romulus.  This  rise  in  the  Sacred  Way  seems  to 
have  acquired  in  the  time  of  Constantino  the 
name  of  Mons  Romuleus,  possibly  from  the  tem- 
ple which  had  been  lately  built  upon  it.' 

■«2  Hor.  Epod.  viii.  7. 

'  Hor.  Od.  iv.  2,  34;  Martial.  Ep.  i.  71,  5. 

*  Coepit  Pigmenius  ascendere  per  clivum  viae  Sacrae,  ante  tern- 
plum  Romuli.     Acta  S.  Pigmenii   (Xibby,  Foro  Romano,  p.  180) 
Processionale.  (Xote  770.) 

Fuit  denique   hactenus  statua  in  pede  montis  Romulei,  hoc  est 
ante    Sacram   viam   intra   templum    Faustinae    advecta    ad    arcum 
Fabianum,  quae  haberet  inscriptum,  Gallieno,  etc.     Trebellius  Pollio 
Salon.n.  ,.  (Hist.  Aug.  Script,  ii.  244).     Servius  speaks  of  a  statue 
of  Romulus  m  the  Sacred  Way.     (Note  760.) 


CHAP. 
VIII. 


Physical 
topogra- 
phy of 
Sacred 
Way. 


Sacer 
Clivus. 


Mons 
Romuleus. 


288 


TUE  ROMAN  FORUM. 


criAi*. 
viu. 


The  Sacred  Way  is  agreeably  associated  with 

the  ha})its  and  daily  life  of  Horace.    He  describes 

the  SuJred    himself  going  down  it  in  the  morning,  absorbed  in 


Ilorsice,  in 


Way 


his  thoughts  or  in  bis  verse. 

Ibiim  forte  via  Sacra,  sicut  mens  est  mos, 
Nescio  quid  meilitaiis  niigarum,  ct  totus  in  illis.'^^-'^ 

Later  in  the  day  be  frequently  passed  through  it 
to  take  his  evening  walk  in  the  Forum. 

Fallaceiii  Circum,  vespertiiumujiie  pererro 
8aepe  forum. ^ 


Branching  to  the  right  upon  the  ridge  at  the  to] 


Routes  to 

the  Pala-  r    i        o 

tine  i.y  the   of  the  Sacra  Via,  a  street,  the  pavement  of  which 

Sacred  ^ 

Way. 


is  for  a  considerable  distance  open  to  view,  con- 
ducted into  the  very  heart  of  the  Palatine  hill. 
The  Sacred  Way  thus  led  by  various  routes  to 
different  parts  of  the  Pahitine.  First  the  Nova 
Via  led  out  of  the  beginning  of  the  Sacred  Way 
to  the  Porta  Mugionia  and  the  western  side  of 
the  hill.'  Then,  the  Line  alreadv  mentioned  led 
to  the  house  of  Scaurus  and  prolmbly  to  other 
mansions  on  the  north  slope.  And  finally  the 
street  upon  the  ridge  formed  the  easiest  ascent  to 
the  great  buildings  of  the  Flavian  emperors. 
Hence  the  Sacred  Way  (in  its  popular  and  re- 
stricted sense)  was  primarily  the  road  from  the 
Forum  to  the  Palatine. 

Inde  saero  venerauda  petes  Palatia  clivo.'* 

Cicero  leads  his  prisoners  from  the  Palatine  to 


"■•^  Hor.  Sat.  i.  9,  1 
'  See  Chapter  IX 


«  Hor.  Sat.  i.  6,  113. 
»  Martial.  Ep.  i.  71,  5. 


SUMMA  SACRA  VIA. 


289 


the  Forum  doAvn  the  Sacred  Way^'l  Vitellius  in 
the  Forum,  intent  on  abdicating  empire  in  the 
Temple  of  Concord,  is  forced  by  his  friends  back 
to  the  Palace  by  closing  every  other  route  except 
the  Sacred  Way.'^ 

The  house  of  the  Rex  Sacrificulus,  mentioned 
by  Festus  as  the  limit  of  the  Sacra  Via  as  com- 
monly understood,  must  have  been  in  the  Summa 
Sacra  Via,  but  its  site  is  unknown.  The  Aedes 
Larum  was  also  in  the  Summa  Sacra  Via,  and  it 
is  not  imi)rol)able  that  the  house  of  the  sacrificial 
king  adjoined  this  temple,  the  shrine  of  the 
guardian  deities  of  the  city,  where  the  king  Ancus 
Martius  is  said  to  have  dwelt  ;^  as  the  residence  of 
the  Pontifex  Maximus,  the  traditional  palace  of 
Xuma,  was  next  to  the  temple  of  Vesta.  The 
temple  of  the  Lares  was  situated  on  the  line  of 
the  boundary  of  the  Palatine  city,  the  Pomerium 
of  Ptomulus  as  laid  down  by  Tacitus,^  and  was 

'«»  Plutarch.  Cic.  22.     (Note  18.) 

«"o  Maior  hie  clamor  obsistentium  penatibus  prlvatis,  in  Palatium 
vocaiitium.  Interclusum  aliud  iter,  idque  solum  quod  in  Sacram 
viam  pergeret,  patebat;  turn  consilii  inops  in  Pjdatluin  redilt.  Tac. 
Hist.  iii.  68.     Compare  Dio  Cass.  Ixv.  20. 

»  Ancus  Martius  (habitavit)  in  summa  Sacra  via,  ubi  aedes  Larum 
est.     Solinus,  1.     Compare  Nonius,  xii.  531.     (Note  856.) 

2  Inde  certis  spatiis  interiecti  lapides  per  ima  montis  Palatini  ad 
arani  Consi,  mox  ad  Curias  veteres,  tum  ad  sacellum  Larum;  forum- 
que  llomanum  et  Capltolium  non  a  Romulo  sed  a  T.  Tatio  additum 
urbi  credidere.  Tac.  Ann.  xii.  24.  Some  modern  ediror-,  including*' 
OrcUi,  read  sacellum  Larundae^  rolying  upon  a  passanje  in  Varro 
(L.  L.  V.  10,  22)  where  he  says,  tluit,  according  to  the  annalists, 
Talius  vowed  a  temple,  amoncr  other  deities,  to  Larunda.  But  tins  does 
not  show  that  any  temple  of  Larunda  existed  in  Varro's  day,  still  less 

U 


CHAP 
VIII. 


Summa 
Sacra  Via. 

House  of 
the  Rex 
Sacrificu- 
lus. 

Aedes 
Larnm. 


290 


CHAP. 

VIII. 


Market  at 
the  Suinma 
Sacra  Via. 


THE  ROMAN  FORUM. 

therefore  in  all  prol^ability  on  the  southern  side 
of  the  Sacra  Via,  in  the  direction  of  the  Palatine 
hill.  This  temple  was  rebuilt  by  .Augustus,^^^  and 
was  probably  maintained  as  long  as  the  old  religion 
had  anv  influence.  Some  remains  of  it  mav 
perhaps  be  found,  and  that  with  no  considerable 
excavation,  in  the  Open  space  near  the  south  side 
of  the  church  of  Sta.  Maria  Xuova.  Close  to  the 
temple  of  the  Lares  was  an  altar  of  Orbona.^ 

The  Summa  Sacra  Via  appears,  from  what  w^e 
see  of  the  pavement  near  the  church  of  Santa 
Maria  Nuova,  to  have  s})read  into  a  broad  paved 
area.  Here  probably  w^as  a  sort  of  open  market 
for  the  sale  of  tlowers,  fruit,  and  other  petty 
articles.'     Ovid  alludes  to  this  merchandise. 

Dum  bene  dives  iiger,  duni  rami  }M)ndere  imtant, 

Afferat  in  calatho  rustica  dona  puer; 
Rure  suburbano  poteris  tibi  dicere  missa 

TUa,  vel  in  Sacra  sint  licet  empta  via.'' 

And  in   another  jdace  he   speaks   of  the  skilfid 

that  it  was  on  the  line  of  the  poinerium,  whereas  the  Temple  of  the 
Lares  certainly  existed  in  imperial  times,  having  been  rebuilt  by 
Auf^ustus,  and,  beinjr  on  the  Summa  Sacra  Via,  must  have  been  on 
or  near  the  limits  of  the  ancient  Palatine  city. 

^"^^    AEDEM  .  LARVM  .  IN  .  SVMMA      SACRA  .  VIA FECI.    MoU. 

Ancj'r, 

*  Ideoque  etiam  publice  Febri  fanum  in  Palatio  dicatum  est,  Or- 
bonae  ad  aedera  Larium.     Plin.  N.  II  ii.  5. 

^  Huiusce,  inquam,  pomaria  summa  Sacra  via,  ubi  poma  veneunt 
oontra  auream  imaginem.  Varro,  R.  R.  i.  2.  The  golden  image  is 
not  known.  Cloelia's  statue  was  of  bronze,  and  may  possibly  have 
been  gilt.     Dionys.  v.  35.  (Xote  864.) 

'^  Ovid,  de  Art.  Am.  ii.  263. 


GOLDEN  HOUSE  OF  NERO. 


29] 


t 


hands  that  were  employed  in   tying  up  garlands     chap. 
before  the  temple  of  the  Lares.  

Lucifero  subeunte  Lares  delnbra  tulernnt 
Hie,  ubi  fit  docta  niidta  corona  manu.***" 

Propertius  also  mentions  the  trifles  that  might 
be  bought  here, 

Quaeque  nitent  Sacra  vilia  dona  via.^ 

Beyond   the    summit   of   tlie    Sacra  Via,    and    fempic  ».f 

Til  •  A         1-^  Venus  and 

extending  back  nearly  as  tar  as  the  Colosseum,  Home. 
is  a  vast  ])latform  with  a   ruined  ])uilding  in  its 
centre,  which    has   been    recognised    by  modern 
antiquaries  as  the  Temj)le  of  Venus  and  Rome,  (ioiden 
originallv  founded  bv  Hadrian."      This  site  had  NerT'' 
been  previously  occupied  ])y  the  ]ialace  of  Nero, 
which  reached  from  the  Esquiline  to  the  Palatiiu^ 
Hill,  and,  liavins;  been  burnt  down  in  the  irreat 
Hre  which  occurred  in  that  em])eror's  reign,  was 
rebuilt  u])on  the  same  site  on  a  still  more  splendid 
scale  and  called  the  Golden  House,  apparently  on 
account  of  the  quantity  of  gilding  used  in  its  ex- 
terior.^^     The  vestibule,  which   was   desii^ned  to 
contain  a  colossal  bronze  statue  of  the  emperor,  Coiosf^ns 
— according  to  Pliny  a  hundred  and  ten,  and  ac- 
cording to  Suetonius  a  hundred  and  twenty  feet 

«»■  Fast.  vi.  791. 

"  Propertius,  ii.  24.  1.  Numerous  sepulchral  inscriptions  have 
been  preserved  recording  the  location  in  the  Sacred  Way  of  various 
trades,  especially  goldsmiths  and  jewellers.  Orelli,  Inscr.  4148,  -9, 
-55,  -6,  -92,  -3,  4292,  4302,  7244;  Grufer,  mxxxiii.  1. 

"  The  identification  was  first  made  by  Nardini.  Roma  Autica, 
p    130;  Id.  ed.  Xibl.y,  i.  286,  296.  "^  Plin.  X.  II.  xxxiii.  \^. 

I    2 


292 


CHAP. 
VIII. 


Flavian 
Amphi- 
theatre. 

Baths  of 
Titus. 

Colossus. 


811 


THE  ROMAN  FORUM. 

liigh ^—probably  fiiced  the  top  of  the  Sacred  Way. 
The  extent  of  the  building  is  said  to  have  been  so 
great,  that  the  portico,  which  was  of  triple  depth, 
was  a  mile  long.  Behind  the  palace  was  a  large 
lake  surrounded  by  buildings;  and  on  the  Esqui 
line  the  o^round  was  cleared  for  an  extensive  park. 
A  great  part  of  the  space  appropriated  by  this 
selfisli  extravagance  was  devoted  by  Vespasian 
and  Titus  to  public  uses.  The  site  of  the  lake 
was  occupied  by  the  Flavian  Amphitheatre,  and 
the  Baths  of  Titus  were  placed  on  the  gardens  of 
the  Esquiline.-  The  Colossus,  with  some  cliange 
in  the  design,  was  completed  after  Nero's  death, 
and  dedicated  to  the  Sun,  the  head  being  sur- 
rounded with  rays.  Some  said  that  the  face 
retained  the  likeness  of  Nero ;  others  that  it  had 

8"  Nero  Antii  agens  non  ante  in  urbem  regressus  est  quam  doniui 
eius,  qua  Falatium  et  Maecenatis  bortos  continuaverat,  ignis  propin- 
quaret.     Tac.  Ann.  xv.  39. 

Domum  a  Palatio  Esquiiias  usque  fecit,  quam  primo  Transitoriam, 
raox  incendio  absumptam  restitutamque  Auream  nominavit.  .  . 
Vestibulum  eius  fuit  in  quo  colossus  cxx.  pedum  staret  ipsius  effigie: 
tanta  laxitas  ut  porticus  triplices  milliarias  haberet :  item  stagnum 
maris  instar  circumsaeptum  edificiis  ad  urbium  speciem,  rura  insuper 
arvis  atque  vinetis  et  pascuis  silvis(pie  varia  cum  multitudine  omnis 
generis  pecudum  ac  ferarum.     Sueton.  Ner.  31. 

2  Hie,  ubi  sidereus  propius  videt  astra  colossus, 

Et  crescunt  media  pegmata  celsa  via, 
Invidlosa  feri  radiabant  atria  regis, 

Unaque  iam  tota  stabat  in  urbe  domus. 
Hie,  ubi  conspicui  venerabilis  ampbitlieatri 

Erijiitur  moles,  stagna  Neronis  erant. 
Hie,  ubi  miramur,  velocia  munera,  thermas, 
Abstulerat  miseris  tecta  superbus  ager. 

Martial.  Spect.  ii. 


i 


CHAP. 
VIII. 


TEMPLE  OF  VENUS  AND  ROME.  293 

that  of  Titus.^^^  It  was  fixed  in  the  reign  of  Ves- 
pasian, A.i).  77,  on  the  site  originally  prepared 
for  it  at  the  top  of  the  Sacred  Way;  but  the 
j)alace  of  Nero  appears  to  have  been  pulled  down, 
and  the  ground,  when  Martial  wit)te,  was  occupied 
by  scaffolding  and  engines,  connected  perhaps 
with  the  work  of  the  new  amphitheatre."^  The  Co- 
lossus was  removed  to  a  new  position,  probably 
to  the  great  pedestal  still  existing  close  to  the 
Colosseum,  by  the  Emperor  Hadrian,^  who  chose  Temple  of 

,  .  f,      '  .  1     -.  -,  p  Venus  and 

the  magniiicent  site  now  lert  vacant  at  the  top  ot  Rome. 

*"  llomam  accitus  est  (Zenodorus)  a  Nerone,  ubi  destinatum  illius 
principis  simulacrum  colossum  fecit  ex.  pedum  longitudine,  qu. 
dicatus  Solis  venerationi  est,  damnatis  sceleribus  illius  principisi. 
Plin.  N.  H.  xxxiv.  18. 

"O  Tf  KoXotTfToc  wvofjiatTfitvoc,  iv  ry  \ep^  odtp  tlpvQi].     <paal  dt  avTov  to 

Tt  V^pOr  tKUTOV  TTOCioVy    KUl   TO   tlSoQ  01     fllv  TO    'SfpwVOQ  Ot   Sk    TO    TOv    TlTOV 

tXfii^-     Dio  Cass.  Ixvi.  16.     In  tbe  Curiosum,  Reg.  IV.  the  Colossus 
is  said  to  be  102.Jft.  in  heiglit.     See  Appendix. 

Colossi  refectorem  insigni  congiario  magnaque  mercede  donavit 
(Vespasianus).     Sueton.  Vesp.  18. 

Inde  sacro  veneranda  petes  palatia  clivo, 

Plurima  qua  summi  fulget  imago  ducis ; 
Xec  te  detineat  miri  radiata  colossi 

Quae  Kliodium  moles  vincere  gaudet  opus. 

Martial,  Ep.  i.  71,  5. 

*  Martial   Spect.  ii.  (Note  812);  Dio  Cass.  Ixvi.  16.  (Note  813.) 

*  Transtulit  et  colossum  stantem  atque  suspensum  per  Decrianum 
arcbitectum  de  eo  loco  ubi  nunc  templum  Urbis  est,  ingenti  molimine 
ita  ut  operi  ctiam  elephantes  xxiv.  exhiberet.  Et  quum  hoc 
simulacrum  post  Neronis  vultum,  cui  antea  dicatum  iuerat.  Soli 
consecrasset,  aliud  tale  ApoUodoro  architecto  auctore  f'acere  Lunae 
molitus  est.     Spartian.  Hadr.  19.     (Hist.  Aug.  Script.) 

The  modern  name  of  the  Flavian  amphitheatre  (in  the  form 
Culisaeus)  is  first  found  in  an  English  author,  Bede.  (Nibby, 
Foro  Romano,  p.  229.)  Some  have  supposed  that  it  was  derived 
from  the  neighbouring  Colossus. 


I 


294 


CHAP. 
VIII. 


Criticism 
of  Apollo- 
Uonis. 


THE  ROMAN  FORUM. 

the  Sacred  Way  for  his  favourite  monument,  the 
(lou])le  Temple  of  Venus  and  Rome,  said  to  have 
been  designed  by  the  prince  himself.    Dio  Cassius 
tells  a  story  about  the   building  of  this    temple 
which  possesses  a  great  topographical  interest,  as 
confirming  the  assumed  site  of  this  monument. 
The  emperor,  when  his  work  was  already  in  pro- 
o-ress,  submitted  his    drawings  to  the   architect 
Apollodorus  of  Damascus,  who  had  designed  the 
Forum    and    other    buildings    of    Trajan.      The 
professional  architect  did  not  disguise  his  opinion 
of  the  designs  of  the  imperial  amateur,  pointing 
out  that  the  statues  were  too  large  for  their  cells, 
and   that   the    principal    building   ought  to  have 
been    raised   higher,    so    as    more   completely  to 
command  the  Sacred  Way.     This  arrangement, 
he  observed,  would  have  necessitated  a  vast  sub- 
structure, which  should  have  been  made  hollow, 
and  would  then  have  been  signally  useful  both  for 
storing  the  machinery  of  the  amphitheatre   and 
for  preparing  it  out  of  sight  for  immediate  use. 
The   conclusion  of  the  story  is  so    tragic,  if  we 
admit  its  credibility,  as  to  cast  a  shadow^  over  the 
memory  of  Hadrian.    The  amateur  is  said  to  have 
iirst  banished  the  artist,  and  afterwards  to  have 
put  him  to  death. ^^^ 

*'^  'O  ^i  dvT€Trk(TT€i\e  irepi  n  tov  vaov,  on  Kai  ^ereujpov  arruv  icai  vrrfic- 
Ktvwfihov  yevsffOai  ixp^l^'  '^  ''^  ^^  ^'^^  ifpav  o^oi'  Utpaveanpog  t^  v\pj]\o- 
Tspov  eh),  Kai  tQ  to  ko~iXov  ra  fitjxdvw^ra  US^xoito,  wtrre  Kai  d<pavwc 
ffV^TTyiyvvffOai  Kai  tK  ov  irpoeidoroi;  fic  to  OfaTpov  ehayeaOai.  Dio  Cass. 
Ixix.  4.    Spartian.  Hadr.  19. 


TEMPLE  OF  VENUS  AND  ROME. 


295 


Tlie  vast  terrace  occupied  by  this  monument     chap. 
was  surrounded  by  a  portico  or  colonnade.^^'  *  The       — 
double  temple  in  the  centre  contained  two  cells 
with  tribunes  or  apses  placed  back  to  back,  and 
decastyle  porticoes  facing  in  the  two  directions 
towards  the  Forum  and  the  Amphitheatre.     The 
porticoes  are  represented  upon  coins  of  Hadrian. 
The  central  ])uilding,  l)eing  placed  at  some  distance 
])ack  from  the  Summa  Sacra  Via,  must  have  ap- 
peared to   a   spectator  approaching    it    from  the 
Forum   somewhat  sunk  behind  the   surrounding 
colonnade,  and  probably  in  this  respect  the  criti- 
cism attributed  to  Apollodorus  was  not  without 
foundation. 

Tl.is  temple  appears  to  have  been  completed  or  ff^lftj*;;^^^^^^ 
restored  by  Antoninus  Pius,  on  whose  medals,  as  temple. 
well  as  on  those  of  Hadrian,  it  is  re])resented,  and 

«>'  The  recent  discovery  of  a  fragment  of  the  Capitoline  Plan, 
representing  the  Porticus  Liviae  as  a  large  area  surrounded  by  a 
pc.rtico,  has" tempted  an  English  antiquary  to  lit  it  to  this  locality. 
(Parker,  Archaeology  of  Rome,  ii.  p.  86.)  It  may  be  worth  while 
to  observe,  first,  that  no  other  site  but  the  present,  lying  between  the 
Sacra  Via  and  the  Amphitheatre,  answers  to  Apollodorus's  criticism 
of  the  temple  budt  by  Hadrian  ;  secondly,  that  the  Porticus  Liviae 
was  in  the  third  Region  of  Augustus  (Curiosum  and  Notitia,  Preller, 
Regionen,  pp.  6,  7),  whereas  this  site  lies  in  the  fourth,  and  on  the 
boundary  of  the  tenth  Region;  thirdly,  that  the  fragment  of  the 
Plan  of  the  Porticus  Liviae  corresponds  neither  in  the  budding 
delineated  in  the  centre  of  the  area,  nor  in  the  streets  and  buildings 
surrounding  it,  with  the  ruins  found  on  and  near  this  site;  and, 
fourthly,  that  the  Porticus  Liviae,  built  by  Augustus,  subsisted  in 
the  time  of  Constantine,  whereas  this  site  was  almost  certainly  occu- 
pied during  part  of  the  interval  between  these  periods  by  the  build- 
ings of  Nero. 


296 


THE  ROMAN  FORUM. 


ARCH  OF  TITUS. 


297 


CHAP. 
VHI. 


Arch  of 
Titus. 


rebuilt  bv  Maxeiitius  after  destruction  by  iire.*^^^ 
In  later  times  it  was  commonly  called  Templum 
Url)is.^  The  ancient  worship  of  both  deities  was 
still  maintained  in  it  when  Prudentius  wrote  his 
first  book  against  Symmachus,  about  a.d.  400.^" 
It  appears  to  be  this  temple  whose  roof  Claudian 
describes  as  glittering  on  the  Palatine  hill,  and 
to  which  the  nations  bring  their  petitions. 

Conveninnt  ad  tecta  deae  quae  Candida  lucent 
Monte  Palatino.i 

The  bronze  plates,  probably  gilded,  with  which 
the  temple  was  covered,  were  removed  by  Pope 
Honorius  I.  with  the  consent  of  the  emperor 
Heraclius,  to  be  placed  over  the  basilica  of  St. 
Peter.^ 

At  the  west  corner  of  the  great  platform  of 
Venus  and  Rome  stands  the  Arch  of  Titus,  with 

8>»  Maxentius  imp.  ann.  vi.  Hoc  imp.  templum  Romae  arsit  et 
fabricatum  est.  Catal.  imp.  Vienn.  p.  24§.  Rone.  (Becker,  Hand- 
buch,  i.  443.)     Aurelius  Victor,  Caes.  40.  (Xote  774.) 

^  His  coss.  (Pompeiano  et  Attiliano)  templum  Romae  et  Veneris 
factum  est,  quod  nunc  Urbis  appellatur.  Cassiod.  Chron.  Hadr. 
Urbis  templum,  forumque  Pads,  .  .  aliaque  inter  haec  decora  urbis 
aeternae.     Ammianus  Marccllinus,  xvi.  10. 


M 


Ac  Sacram  resonare  viam  mugitibus  ante 
Delubrum  Romae :  colitur  nam  sanguine  et  Ipsa 
More  deae,  nomenque  loci  ceu  numen  habetur ; 
Atque  Urbis  Venerlsque  pari  se  culmine  tolhmt 
Templa,  simul  geminis  adolentur  thura  deabus. 

Prudent,  cont.  Symmach.  i  218. 
'  Claudian,  de  laud.  Stilich.  ii.  227. 

■  Hie  (Honorius)  cooperuit  ecclesiam  (S.  Petri)  omnem  ex  tabulis 
aeneis  quas  levavit  de  templo  quod  appellatur  Romae  ex  consensu 
pientissimi  Heraclel  Imperatorls.     Anastas.  Biblloth.  in  Vita  Hon.  I. 


its  sculptures  recording  his  Jewish  triumph.     It 
bears  the  inscription: 

SENATVS 
POPVLVSQVE .  ROAT  ANVS 
DIV( ) .  TITO .  DI VI .  VESPASIANI .  F 
VESPASI ANO .  A VGVSTO 

The  title  cUv?ts,  as  well  as  the  relief  which 
represents  his  apotheosis,  shows  that  the  arch  was 
not  completed  until  after  the  em])eror's  death. 
The  relief,  in  which  the  seven-branched  candle- 
stick is  a  conspicuous  object,  gave  in  the  middle 
ages  the  name  of  Arcus  septem  lucernarimi  to 
this  monument. 

The  account  of  the  ancient  remains  on  and  near 
the  Sacred  Way  given  in  the  book  de  mirahilihus 
Bomae,  prol)al)ly  of  the  twelfth  century,  affords 
a  curious  picture  both  of  the  state  of  the  ruins  at 
that  period,  and  of  the  utter  confusion  into  which 
the  traditional  knowledge  of  the  localities  had 
fallen.  The  Temple  of  Vesta  was  still  remem- 
bered, but  whether  in  connection  with  its  real  site 
is  uncertain.  The  ruins  near  it,  perhaps  the 
temple  of  Castor,  were  called  the  Temple  of  Pallas, 
and  next  to  them  was  what  was  l)elieved  to  be 
the  Forum  of  Caesar  and  the  Temple  of  Janus, 
where  was  a  tower  of  the  Cenci  Frangipani,  pos- 
sibly on  the  site  of  the  Temple  of  Julius  ;  then 
the  church  of  S.  Lorenzo  m  Miranda,  called  the 
Temple  of  Minerva,  with  an  arch  adjoining  it, 
apparently  the  Fornix  Fabianus;  near  it  the 
church  of  S.  Cosmas,  which  was  believed  to  have 


CHAP. 
VHI. 


w 


Arch  of 
the  Seven 
Lamps. 


Medieval 
account  of 
tiic  east 
end  of  the 
Forum  and 
the  Sacred 
Way. 


298 


THE  ROMAN  FORUM. 


Streets  ou 
each  side 
of  Venus 


CHAP,  been  called  the  Tenii)le  of  Asylum;  at  the  back  of 
Vlh  this  church  tlie  Temple  of  Peace  and  Latona,  and 
in  front  of  it  the  Temple  of  Romulus;  behind  the 
church  of  Santa  Maria  Nuova  the  two  temples  of 
Concord  and  Piety;  and  near  the  arch  of  the  seven 
lamps  the  Temple  of  Aesculapius.^^^ 

In  the  scul])ture  upon  the  tomb  of  the  Aterii, 

A  second  \  ,  . 

arch  on  the  preserved  in  the  Lateran  Museum,  there  is  repre- 
kacrrVia.  scutcd  au  arch,  inscribed  at^cus  in  sacra  via  sumfua, 

\v  hich  does  not  correspond  with  the  Arch  of  Titus. 

This  may  possibly  have  been  one  of  the  numerous 

arches  of  Domitian.^ 

The  road  leading  to  the  right  from  the  top  oi' 

the  Sacred  Way  into  the  Palatine  has  been  already 

OI  venus  ^  t  •  i  • 

and  Honu.  mentioned.  In  the  opposite  du^ection  tliere  is  an 
ancient  street,  now  uncovered,  which  led  ti-om  the 
Summa  Sacra  Via  along  the  eastern  side  of  the 
Basilica  of  Constantino.  From  this  a  narrow  lane, 
turning  at  right  angles  to  the  right,  is  continued 
between  the  great  platform  of  the  temple  of  Venus 
and  Rome  and  the  neighbouring  hill,  and  so 
reaches  the  north-west  side  of  the  Flavian  Amphi- 
theatre at  the  end  of  the  Via  del  Coliseo.  On  the 
opposite  or  southern   side  of  the  same  platform 

823  Ibi  est  templum  Veste,  ...  est  ibi  templuni  Palladis  et  forum 
Ces^iris  et  templum  lani,  .  .  .  nunc  autem  dicitur  turris  Cencii 
Frajapanis.  Templum  INIInerve  cum  arcum  adiunctum  est  ei,  nunc 
autem  vocatur  S.  Laurcnlius  de  Mirandi;  iuxta  eum  ccclesia  S.  Cosme 
que  fuit  templum  Asili ;  retro  fuit  templum  Pacis  et  Latone,  super 
idem  templum  Komuli  ;  post  S.  Mariam  Novam  duo  templa  Con- 
cordie  et  Pietatis  ;  iuxta  arcum  septem  lucernarum  templum  Esco- 
lapii.     Mirabilia,  Jordan,  Topogr.  der  Stadt  Rom,  ii.  636. 

*  See  p.  126,  note  324. 


ri 


VELIA. 

an  ancient  street  of  greater  width  now  again  in 
use,  branching  to  the  left  from  that  leading  into 
the  Palatine  and  ])assing  under  the  Arch  of  Titus, 
leads  to  the  Meta  Sudans,  the  Arch  of  Constan- 
tine,  and  the  south-west  side  of  the  Colosseum. 

We  have  thus  two  ways  leading  from  the 
Summa  Sacra  Via  to  the  Amphitheatre,  one  passing 
to  the  north,  the  otlier  to  the  south,  of  the  Temple 
of  Venus  and  Rome.  The  latter  route  is  gene- 
rally identified  with  the  third  portion  of  the  Sacra 
Via.  It  certainly  seems  to  have  been  the  more 
important  street,  and  was  the  route  by  which  the 
triumphs  were  conducted  from  the  Circus  Maxi- 
mus  to  what  Horace  calls  the  Sacer  Clivus, 
descending  into  the  Forum.  Hence,  as  the  earlier 
triumphal  arches  of  Fabius,  Augustus,  and  Tibe- 
rius were  ])laced  upon  the  triumphal  route  through 
the  Forum,  the  later  arches  of  Titus  and  Con- 
stantino are  found  upon  this.  But,  in  our  utter 
ignorance  as  to  the  position  of  the  Sacellum 
Streniae,  to  which  the  Sacra  Via  ultimately  con- 
ducted, it  is  useless  to  endeavour  to  identify  its 
course  beyond  the  Summa  vSacra  Via. 

The  hill  called  Velia  has  been  placed  by  topo- 
graphers in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  Sacred 
Way;  but  the  opinion  generally  received  as  to 
the  locality  indicated  by  this  name  requires  some 
correction. 

The  Velia  ap])ears  to  have  been  one  of  the 
orio'iiial   Seven  Hills  of  Rome,  and  is  named  by 


299 


CHAP. 
VIII. 


Third 
portion  of 
Sacra  Via 


Veli:t. 


300 


THE  ROMAN  FORUM. 


CHAP. 
VIII. 


Velia,  one 
of  the 
ori?^inaI 
Seven 
Hills. 


Velia  uni- 
ted with 
the  Pahi- 
tine; 


but  a 

distinct 

Icoality. 


Festus  on  the  authority  of  Antistius  Labeo,  a 
jurist  of  the  Augustan  Age,  as  one  of  the  hills 
which  participated  in  the  ancient  festival  of  the 
Septimontium,  and  as  having  its  special  sacrifice. 
The  Palatium  was  another  of  these  hills,  and  had 
its  own  sacrifice  called  Falainar;  and  the  Ger- 
malus  or  Cermalus  w^as  a  third.^^^  Varro  mentions 
the  existence  on  the  Velia,  at  the  Temple  of  the 
Penates,  of  one  of  those  shrines  of  earlv  Roman 
worship  called  Sacraria  Argeorimi.  He  also  tells 
us  that  the  Velia  and  Germalus  were  in  the 
fourth  Servian  Region,  united  with  the  Palatine.*^ 
From  this  statement  we  may  conclude  that  the 
Velia  was  not  within  the  natural  boundaries  of  the 
Palatine  Hill,  but  that  it  was  sufficiently  near  to 
make  some  sort  of  vmion  possible  and  convenient. 
It  may  be  that  the  hills  were  united  by  somQ 
defensive  w^orks  of  the  early  kings,  before  the 
greater  extension  of  the  city  marked  by  the  Ser- 
vian walls.  It  should  be  observed,  however,  that 
the  Velia  was  never  absorl)ed  in  the  Palatine,  but 
continued  to  be  treated  as  a  distinct  locality  ;' 

*"  Septimontio,  ut  ait  Antistius  Labeo,  hisce  montibus  feriae ; 
Falatio,  cui  sacrificium  quod  fit  Palatuar  dicitur,  Veliue,  cui  item 
sacrificium,  Faguali  [Fagutali],  Suburae,  Cernialo,  Oppio,  Caelio 
monti,  Cispio  monti.  Festus,  ed.  Miill.  p.  348.  As  an  amended  read- 
ini;  ]\Iiiller  has  dele  Caelio. 

*  Quartae  regionis  Palatium  .  .  .  huie  Cermalum  et  Velias  con- 
iunxerunt,  quod  in  hac  regione  sacriportus  est,  et  in  ea  sic  scrlptum 

est,   GERMALENSE    .    QVINTICEPS    .    APVD    .    AEDEM   .    ROMVLI,    et,    VELI- 
ENSE  .  SEXTICEPS   .   IN    .    VELIA  .  APVD   .    AEDEM   .    DEVM   ,   PENATIVM. 

Varro,  L.  L.  v.  8  (17). 

^  Cic.  Har.  Kesp.  viii.  (Note  832.) 


STORY  OF  PVBLICOLA. 


80] 


the  Temple  of  the  Penates,  the  distinctive  monu- 
ment of  the  Velia,  is  never  described  as  in  the 
Palatine;  and  in  the  Augustan  division  of  Re- 
gions the  Velia  does  not  appear  to  have  been 
included  in  the  tenth  Region,  which  comprised  the 
Palatine  Hill. 

The  Velia  had  been  in  early  times,  according 
to  the  Roman  antiquaries,  the  residence  of  King 
Tullus  Hostilius,^^^  but  is  chiefly  known  in  con- 
nection with  the  story  of  P.  Valerius  Publicola. 
It  is  narrated  that  when  Publicola,  shortly  after 
the  expulsion  of  the  kings,  was  preparing  to  build 
a  house  upon  the  top  of  this  hill,  which  is  described 
as  a  strong  position  raised  a])ove  the  Forum  by 
a  steep  elevation,  the  Romans  suspected  him  of 
an  intention  to  make  himself  king.  He  thereupon 
abandoned  his  design,  and  placed  his  house  under 
the  Velia  at  the  bottom  of  the  hill,  upon  a  site  so 
low  that  his  fellow-citizens  might  pelt  him  from 
the  hill  above.**  After  his  death  he  was  honoured 
bv  the  unusual  distinction  of  being  buried  w^ithin 

"^^  Tullus  Ilostiliiis  (habitavit)  in  Velia,  ubi  postea  deum  Penatium 
aedes  facta  est.     Solinus,  rolyhisl.  1.     Cic.  de  Rep.  ii.  31.  (Note  829.) 

Varro  de  vita  P.  R.  libro  primo,  Tullum  Ilostilium  in  Velis,  ubi 
nunc  est  acdis  deum  Paenatlum ;  Ancum  in  Palatio  ad  portam 
jSIu'^iones  secundum  via  sub  sinistra.     Nonius,  xii.  531,  ed.  Gerlach, 

Basil.  1842. 

»2»  P.Valerius  .  .  aedes  suas  detuHt  sub  Veliam,  postea  quam,  quod 
in  excelsiorc  loco  Veliae  caepisset  aedificare,  eo  ipso  ubi  rex  Tullus 
habitaverat,  suspicionem  populi  sensit  moveri.     Cic.  de  Rep.  ii.  31. 

Aedificabat  in  summa  Velia;  ibl  alto  et  munito  loco  areem  inex- 
pu'Tnabilem  fore  .  .  .  'Deferam  non  in  planum  niodo  aedes  sed  colli 
etiam  subiiciam.'  Delata  confestim  materia  omnis  infra  Veliam,  er, 
ubi  nunc  Vicaepotae  est  domus,  in  infimo  clivo  aedificatur.  Liv.  ii.  7. 

Tr)v  olKiai'   iv  iTTirpBovt^  ro7r<;j  KaTitTKevaaaTO^    \u(pov   vTrepKeifitvov  tTh: 


CHAP. 

vin. 


House  of 
Publicola. 


302 


THE  llOMAN  FORUM. 


CHAP 
VIII. 


Temple 
of  the 
Penates. 


Site  of  the 
Veliu. 


the  city,  where  his  sepulchre  was  near  the  Foruni 
and  under  the  Velia.^^^  The  site  of  the  residence 
of  Tullus  Hostilius,  and  of  the  intended  house  of 
Publicola  on  the  summit  of  the  Velia,  was  marked 
in  historical  times  by  the  Temple  of  the  Penates;^ 
Temple  of   the  position  of  Publicola's  subsequent  habitation 

Vicupota.  ^ 

sub  Velia  by  a  Temple  of  Vicapota  or  of  Victory.^ 
The  above  narrative  teaches  us  to  look  for  the 
Velia  as  a  hill,  overlooking  a  lower  level  in  the 
near  neii^hbourhood  of  the  Forum.  Relvinu'  ui)on 
this  indication,  and  upon  the  connection  of  tlie 
Velia  with  the  Palatine,  modern  antiquaries,  under 
the  o:uidance  of  Niebuhr  and  Bunsen,  have  aiven 
the  name  of  Velia  to  the  ridge  which  separates 
the  Forum  from  the  valley  of  the  Colosseum, 
and  which  is  surmounted  bv  the  church  of  Santa 
Maria  Nuova  and  the  Arch  of  Titus.^ 


oyo/oat;  v\pt]Xbv  imtiKoJc  Kai  irepiTOfiov^  dp  kuXoixti  'Pw/iatoi  'E\<ar,  UXe- 
Kdfitvoe  ....  Tt)v  o'lKiav  aTTo  tov  tottov  tov  \6(pov  fieTdTiOtTai  KaTuj^  h-a 
i^i'ii)  'Piofiaioig,  wg  avrm:  tKK\r)(riai:,m>  tp]^  /3aX\eti/  uvtuv  civtoOev  airo  roh 
fieTtwpov  XiOoig.,  el  ti  Xafiujmv  adiKovvTct.     Dionys.  v.  19. 

»3o  Dionys.  V.  48;  Plutarch.  Poplie.  10. 

•  Solinus,  1  ;  Varro,  in  Nonius,  xii.  531.  (Note  828.) 

-  P.  Valerio  Volesi  filio  Publicolae  aedes  publicas  sub  Velia,  ubi 
nunc  aedes  Victoriae  est,  populum  ex  lege  quam  ipse  tulerat  con- 
cessisse  tradunt.     Ascon.  ad  Cic.  in  Pis.  22.     Liv.  ii.  7.  (Note  829.) 

Cicero,  in  one  of  his  orations,  if  the  received  reading  be  correct 
represents  the  site  of  Publicola's  house  in  Velia  as  a  public  gift.  P. 
Valerio  pro  maximis  in  rempublicam  beneficiis  data  est  domus  in 
Velia  publice;  at  mihi  in  Palatio  restituta  ;  illi  locus,  at  mihi  etiiini 
parietes  atque  tectum.  (Cic.  Har.  Resp.  8.)  The  early  editors  have 
in  villa  publica.  In  Velia  publice  was  a  happy  emendation  of  one  of 
the  older  critics. 

'  Becker,  Handbuch,  vol.  i.  249 ;  Bunsen,  Bcschreibung  d.  St.  Rom. 
iii.  1,  82;  Niebuhr,  Hist.  Rom.     (Eng.  transl.)  vol.  i.  p.  390,  499, 


VELIA. 


303 


This  identification  is  not  entirely  satisfactory. 
The  iiTadual  rise  of  o-round  in  this  direction  does 
not  afford  that  contrast  of  level  between  the 
Velia  and  sub  Velia  Avhich  is  implied  in  the  story 
of  Publicola's  habitation.  But  a  more  convincing 
ol)jection  is  this,  that  the  ridge  in  question  is 
generally  admitted  to  l)e  the  site  of  the  Summa 
Sacra  Via,  and  no  authority  is  to  be  found  for 
placing  the  Summa  Sacra  Via,  or  any  monument 
belonging  to  it,  upon  the  Velia.  The  two  locali- 
ties are  indeed  very  clearly  distinguished  by 
Solinus  and  in  the  Ancyran  inscription.^^^ 

Dionvsius  in  describing  the  temple  of  the 
Penates  affords  us  a  clue  to  a  more  accurate  de- 
termination of  the  position  of  the  Velia.  That 
temple,  which  was  small  and  dark,  though  re- 
built by  Augustus,^  and  was  said  to  contain  the 
Penates  brought  from  Troy,  existed  in  the  his- 
torian's time,  not  far  from  the  Forum,  upon 
the  short  way  which  led  to  the  Carinae.^  Now 
the  Carinae  lay  at  the  edge  of  the  Suburra,  in 
the   neighbourhood   of  S.  Pietro  in  Vincoli,"  and 

Arnold,  Hist.  Rom.  vol.  i.  p.  32  n. ;  Burn,  Rome  and  the  Campagna, 
p.  162. 

"«     AEDEM.LARVM.IN.SVMMA.SACRA.VIA.  AEDEM.DEVM.PENATIVM. 

IN  .VELIA  . .  .  FECI.     Mou.  Ancvr. 

Tullus  Hostilius  in  Velia  (habitavit)  ubi  postea  deum  Penatium 
aedes  facta  est,  Ancus  Martins  in  summa  Sacra  via  ubi  aedes  Larium 
est.     Solinus,  1.  '  Mon.  Ancyr.  (Note  834.) 

«  N«a;e  iv  'Viofiy  hiKwrai  ri^ig  dyopai;  ov  vpoffu),  Kara  Tqv  ini  Kapii/tit, 
tp^povoav  iir'iTO^ov  b^ov  virepoxn  fTKOTtivbg  idpvfiivor  ov  fikyac:'  XiyfTai 
i^t  Kara  Tt)v  i7nxu)piov  yXwrrav  i'TrtXaiaic  to  xopiov.  iv  ^i  TovT(f>  kcIvtui 
tCjv  TpioiKuJi'  OeiZv  fiKovtc  uTrdaiv  op^v.     Dionys.  i.  68. 

-  Varro,  L.  L.  v.  8  (14). 


CHAP 
VIU. 


Summa 
Sacra  Via, 
not  the 
Velia. 


Vflia, 
Ix'twi'cn 
the  Sacra, 
Via  and 
the  Cari- 
nae. 

Temple  of 
the  Pe- 
nates. 


304 


THE  ROMAN  FOIIUM. 


CHAP. 
VIII. 


were  approached,  somewliat  circuitously,  by  the 
Sacra  Via.  The  short  cut  mentioned  bv  Dio- 
nysius  must  have  struck  off  to  the  left  from  that 
road,  and  arrived  more  directly  at  the  Carinae  by 
crossing  the  higher  ground  at  the  back  of  the 
Basilica  of  Constantine.^^'  It  is  therefore  on  this 
ground  that  we  nuist  seek  the  site  of  the  Temple 
of  the  Penates.^  The  historian  adds,  according;  to 
the  ordinary  reading  of  the  passage,  that  the  place 
was  called  vireXaiaK;.  The  manuscripts  vary  as  to 
the  name,  but  it  is  probable  that  we  ought  to  read, 
w^ith  Casaubon,  OveXiai,  since  the  temple  of  the 
Penates  is  distinctly  placed  by  other  autliorities,  not 
under  the  Velia,  as  the  word  vireXaiai^  mio  lit  suo^o-est, 
but  on  its  summit.''  The  locality  described  as  sub 
Velia  w^ould  be  to  the  north  of  the  Sacra  Via,  near 
the  Church  of  SS.  Cosmas  and  Damian.  Between 
the  ancient  level  of  the  ])uildings  on  this  spot  and 
that  of  the  ground  at  the  1)ack  of  the  nei^-hbour- 
ing  basilica  there  is  all  the  contrast  which  is  found 
in  the  old  story  between  the  site  first  chosen  bv 

« 

Publicola  and  that  upon  which  he  afterwards  built. 

"•■'■  See  before,  pp.  268,  282. 

"  It  has  been  thought  that  the  Temple  of  the  Penates  was  burnt 
in  the  Neronian  fire,  with  the  Domus  Transitoria  and  the  other 
monuments  abutting  on  the  Sacred  AVay.  (Tac.  Ann.  xv.  41.  Note 
290.  Burn,  Ptome  and  the  Campagna,  p.  164.)  But  I  understand  the 
expression  of  Tacitus,  deluhrum  Vestae  cum  Pcnatihns  populi  Romnni, 
to  refer  only  to  the  Vesta  temple  and  its  contents. 

»  Casaubon  ad  Sexti  Aurelii  Victoris  Epitomen,  cited  Dionys.  i.  68, 
ed.  Oxon.  Compare  Dionys.  i.  20.  The  plural  form  Vcliae  is  found 
in  Varro,  L.  L.  v.  8.  (Note  826.) 


CHAPTER  IX. 


THE  NOVA  VIA. 


*'  New  Street,"  Nova  Via,  was  one  of  the  most  chap. 
ancient  thoroughfiires  of  Rome,  and  was  con-  —1 
nected  witli  monuments  of  the  most  primitive 
time.  The  contrast  between  the  name  and  the 
fact  is  observed  bv  Varro.^^'*  Its  position  is  a  sub- 
ject of  antiquarian  conjecture,  upon  which  recent 
excavation  has  not  added  much  to  our  knowledire. 
It  does  not,  however,  appear  impossible  to  j)lace 
the  matter  in  a  somewhat  clearer  light  than  that 
in  which  it  has  hitherto  stood. 

The  principal  facts,  known  from  ancient  authors, 
respecting  the  situation  of  the  Nova  Via,  are  the 
foUowins;. 

i.  The  highest  part  of  it,  Summa  Nova  Via,  Summa 

11  .1  n     1  T   •  1  Nova  Via. 

was  under  the  windows  of  the  traditional  resi- 
dence of  King  Tarquinius  Priscus,  wliich  was 
itself  at  the  Mugionian  Gate  of  the  Palatine  city 
and  close  to  the  Temple  of  Jupiter  Stator^^ 


"»  Varro,  I,.  L   vi.  7.  (67.)   (Note  138.) 

^"  Tarquinius  Priscus  (habitavit)  ad  Mugoniam  Portam  super 
summam  Novam  viam.     Solinus,  i.  24. 

Ex  superiore  parte  aedium,  per  fenestras  in  Novnm  viam  versas, 
habitabat  cnim  rex  ad  Jovis  Statoris,  populum  Tanaquil  alloquitur. 
Liv.  i.  41. 


306 


THE  ROMAN  FOllUM. 


INFIMA  NOVA  VIA. 


307 


CHAP. 
IX. 


Aius  Loou- 
tius. 

Communi- 
cation with 
Forum. 

Porta  Ro- 
manula. 


In  lima 
Nova  Via. 


Nova  Via, 
on  north- 
western 
shipe  of  the 
Palatine. 


Velabrum. 


ii.  The  Nova  Via  passed  between  the  Grove  of 
Vesta  and  the  altar  of  Aius  Locutius,  which  was  in 
the  Nova  Via  and  above  the  Temple  of  Vesta.^" 

iii.  There  was  a  communication  in  Ovid's  time 
between  the  Nova  Via  and  the  Forum.^ 

iv.  Not  far  from  the  lowest  part  of  the  Nova 
Via  w^as  the  Porta  Romanula,  which  appears  to 
have  been  reached  bv  steps  abutting  on  this 
street.'^ 

V.  The  lowest  part  of  the  street,  Infima  Nova 
Via,  extended  to  the  Velabrum  and  that  part  of 
the  base  of  the  Palatine  Hill  w^hich  looked  to- 
wards the  Aventine.^ 

Of  the  various  localities  thus  connected  witli 
the  Nova  Via,  there  are  some  of  which  the  sites 
are  themselves  matters  of  speculation,  w^iile 
others  can  be  placed  without  difficulty.  When 
we  know  that  the  lowest  part  of  the  Nova  Via 
was  in  or  near  the  Velabrum,  that  in  another 
part  of  its  course  it  was  not  far  from  the 
Temple  of  Vesta,  that  it  had  a  communication 
with  the  Forum,  and  that  it  passed  under  two 
several  gates  of  the  ancient  Palatine  city,  we 
must  conclude  that  it  was  a  street  running  along 
the  north-western  base  of  the  Palatine  Hill.  The 
site   of  the    Velabrum   is   still   marked    by   the 


CHAP. 

IX. 


841 


Liv.  V.  32,50  ;  Cic.de  Div.  i.  45;  A.  Gellius,  xvi.  17.  (Note  848.) 
-  Ovid.  Fast.  vi.  395.     See  before,  p.  109. 
'  Varro,  v.  34  (46) ;  vi.  3  (58).  (Note  845.) 
*  Varro.  V.  7.   (14);  vi.  3.   (58).  (Note  845.) 


Church  of  San  Giorgio  in  Velabro,  under  the 
western  corner  of  the  Palatine  ;  according  to 
Varro  it  was  in  ancient  times  a  marshy  lake,  and 
the  Nova  Via  led  to  the  traditional  spot  where 
people  embarked  in  boats  to  cross  from  the  Pa- 
latine to  the  Aventine.^^^     Naturally  the  lowest  infi"^* 

X    ri  ^T  Nova  Via. 

part  ot  the  street,  Infima  Nova  Via,  was   here, 

and  from  this  point  the  roadway  must  have  risen 

along  the  base  of  the  hill.     We  are  expressly 

told  by  Varro,  that  at  the  low^er  part,  near  the 

Porta  Romanula,  the  Nova  Via  was  outside  the  Nova  via 

ancient   Palatine  city;^  and  it  appears   to   have  pakline  ^ 

been  still   outside  where  at  its  highest  point  it  ^^*' 

reached  the  Porta    Mugionia,  which  was  above 

itJ     Deferring  the  consideration  of  the  position 

of  these  two  gates,  we  may  first  fix  some  other 

points  in  the  Nova  Via. 

Cicero  informs  us  that  the  altar  of  Aius  Lo-  Altar  of 

AiusLocu- 

quens  was  to  be  seen  in  his  day  within  a  fence  tins. 
opposite  to  the  spot  where  a  mysterious  voice  of 
warning  had  been  heard  from  the  Grove  of  Vesta 

***  Aventinura  .  .  .  ego  maxirae  puto  ab  advectu;  nam  dim  pa- 
ludibus  mons  erat  ab  reliquis  disclusus;  itaque  eo  ex  urbe  advehe- 
bantur  ratibus,  quoius  vestigia,  quod  ea  qua  tum  [ibatur]  dicitur 
Velabrum,  et  unde  ascendebant  ad  infimam  Novam  viam  locus 
sacellum  labrum.     Velabrum  a  vehendo.     Varro,  L.  L.  v.  7  (14) 

*  Hoc  sacrificium  (Accae  Larentiae)  fit  in  Velabro,  qua  in  Novam 
viam  exitur,  ut  aiunt  quidam,  ad  sepulcrum  Accae,  ut  quod  ibi 
prope  faciunt  Diis  Manibus  Servilibus  .sacerdotes  ;  qui  uterque 
locus  extra  urbem  antiquam  fuit  non  longe  a  Porta  Romanula. 
Varro,  L.  L.  vi.  3  (58). 

'  Solinus,  i.  24.  (Note  840.) 

x2 


"I 


( 


308 


CHAP. 
IX. 


Grove  of 
Vesta. 


THE  ROMAN  FOIIUM. 

before  tlie  capture  of  the  city  by  the  Gauls,  and 
that  the  Grove  of  Vesta  reached  from  the  foot 
of  the  Palatine  to  the  Nova  Via;'''  and  we  learn 
from  Livy  that  the  Sacellum  of  Aius   Locutius 
was   in  the  Nova  Via  fibove  the  Aedes  Vestae. 
We  may  conclude  that  the  Grove  of  Vesta  was 
in    the    near   neighbourhood   of  the  temple  and 
other   buildings    connected  with  the  worship  of 
that  goddess,  but   separated   from  them   by  the 
Nova  Via.      The  site    of  the  temple  has   l)een 
})laced  beyond  reasonable  controversy   by  recent 
explorations,   which  have    disclosed   its   circular 
base  at  the  south-eastern  extremity  of  the  Forum. 
The  houses  of  the  Vestals  appear  to  have  been 
on  the  eastern  side  of  the  temple,  and  to  have 
closed   the   Forum    in    this   direction.^       Imme- 
diately in  the  rear,  under  the  existing  road  and 
tlie  facade  of  Santa  Maria  Liberatrice,  ran  in  all 
probability  the  Nova  Via,  and  behind  the  Nova 
Via,  on  the  steep  slope  of  the  Palatine,  now  occu- 


848 


Exaudita  vox  est  a  luco  Vestae,  qui  a  Palatii  radice  in  Novam 
viam  (levexus  est  .  .  .  Ara  enim  Aio  Loqueuti,  quam  saoptam  vide- 
mus,  exadversus  eum  locum  consecrata  est.     Cic.  de  div.  i.  45. 

M.  Caedicius  de  plebe  nuntiavit  tribunis,  se  in  Nova  via,  ubi 
nunc  sacellum  est  supra  aedem  Vestae,  vocem  noctis  silentio  audisse 
Liv.  V.  32. 

Expiandae  etiam  vocis  nocturnae  .  .  .  nientio  illata,  iussumque 
templum  in  Nova  via  Aio  Locutio  fieri.     Liv.  v.  50. 

^WnQ  uV*Wro  (o  Ka^eXXof)  Kai  KXrjCovog  Usl  Tvapd  rijp  Kaiv,)p  6Sdv, 
o^ov,  ktX.     Plutarch,  de  fort.  Rom.  (ed.  Reiske,  p.  265.) 

Nam  sicut  Aius,  inquit  (M.  Varro  in  libris  divinarum),  deus 
appellatus  araque  ei  statuta  est,  quae  est  infima  [qu.  in  summaj 
x^ova  va,  quod  in  eo  loco  divinitus  vox  edita  erat.    A.  Gellius,  xvi.  17. 

■•'  See  before,  pp.  J 10,  118. 


I 
1 


GROVE  OF  VESTA. 


309 


CHAP. 
IX. 


l)ied  by  the  church  and  its  inclosure,  spread  the 
Garden  or  Grove  of  Vesta.     On  this  spot  were      — 
found,  in  the    sixteenth   century,   traces  of  the 
sepulture  of  Vestal  Virgins.''"  ^^^^^^^^. 

The  Grove  of  Vesta  was  probal)ly  filled  with  ^.a^Z  wTtb 
worshippers  during  the  celebration  of  the   Ves- 
talia,  which  occurred  yearly  on  the  9th  of  June. 
It  is  with  reference  to  this  festival  that  Ovid  men- 
tions the  communication  which  appears  to  have 
been  recentlv  made  in  his  day  between  the  Nova 
Via  and  the  Forum,  and  by  which  he  returned  from 
witnessing  the  ceremony.'    It  is  prol)able  that  this 
is  the  road  of  which  the  extremity  has  recently 
been  uncovered  in  the  Forum  between  the  Temple 
of  Castor  and  the  houses  of  the  Vestals,  for  whose 
more  convenient  access  to  their  dwellings  it  was 
probably  constructed,  at  the  same  time  that  other 
additions  to  their  accommodation  were  made  by 

Augustus.^ 

Opposite  the  Grove  of  Vesta,  the  Nova  Via  was  Su,n^a.^^ 

at  a  level  considerably  above  the  Forum,  and 
continued  at  the  higher  level  until  it  passed  the 
Mugionian  Gate,  below  which  the  Summa  Nova 
Via  was  situated.^ 

Close  to  this  gate  appears  to  have  existed  a  nouse<>i 
house  which  was  associated  with  the  names  of  the 
later  kings,  and  of  which  the  site  at  least  was  re- 
membere'Il  in  imperial  times.     Here  Livy  places 


«i»  See  before,  p.  118,  note  295. 

1  Ovid.  Fast.  vi.  395.     See  before,  p.  109. 


'^  See  before,  pp.  109,  124. 


Solinus,  i.  (Note  840.) 


I 


310 


CHAP. 
IX. 


Temple  of 

Jupiter 

iStator. 


Mugionian 
Gate. 


THE  ROMAN  FORUM. 

the  scene  of  the  death  of  Tarquinius  Prisciis,  and 
of  the  efforts  of  his  wife  Tanaquil  to   secure  the 
succession  to   Servius  Tullius.     Her  address  to 
the  people  is  said  to  have  been  delivered  from  the 
windows  opening  on   the  Nova  Via.     The  situa- 
tion of  the  house  of  Tarquinius  is  indicated  to  the 
readers  of  the  Augustan  age,  not  by  reference  to 
this  old  gateway,  but  hy  the  proximity  of  a  more 
imposing  monument.     The  king  lived,  says  Livy, 
at   Jupiter    Stator's.''^     So  Annius    Fetialis,    an 
author  cited  by  Pliny,  places  the  vestibule  of  the 
house    of  Superbus    (by    which    we    can    hardly 
understand  a  different  house  from  that  assigned 
by   Livy   to    Tarquinius    Priscus)    opposite    the 
temple   of  Jupiter  Stator.*^     The  position  of  this 
temple  at  the  Mugionian  Gate  is  abundantly  con- 
firmed by  other  authorities."     In  order  therefore 
to  determine  the  position  of  the  Summa  Nova  Via 
and  of  the  Mugionian  Gate,  it  is  necessary  to  con- 
sider the  question  of  the  site  of  the  Temple  of 
Jupiter  Stator. 

^  Liv.  i.  41 ;  Solinus,  i.  24.  (Note  840.)  Livy's  ad  Statoris  mi-ht 
seem  to  apply  to  the  Regia;  but,  if  he  had  meant  so  well-known  a 
monument,  he  would  have  named  it ;  and  the  passages  of  Solinus 
and  riiny  point  to  a  distinct  traditional  house  of  Tarquin. 

«  Plin.  N.  H.  xxxiv.  12.  (Note  85.)  Ancus  is  said  to  have  dwelt  in 
Palatium  at  the  Mugionian  Gate,  near  the  road  to  the  left.  (Ancum 
in  Palatio  ad  portam  Mugiones  secundum  viam  sub  sinistra.  Yarro,  in 
Nonius,  xii.  531.)  According  to  Solinus,  the  residence  of  Ancus  was 
m  the  Summa  Sacra  Via  at  the  aedes  Larum.     Solinus,  i.  (Note  801 .) 

'  'PujuvXbQ  fikv  'iSpmuTO  Upbv  'OpBiom^j  An  Trapa  rdi^  KaXovfi^vaig 
MvKiovim  TTvXaig,  a'i  <p^povfnp  elc  to  naXdnop  eK  Tqc  \epag  odov.  Dionvs 
ii.  50.     Liv.  i.  12 


.    r 


I 


TEMPLE  OF  JUPITER  STATOR. 

It  has  been  the  fashion  of  modern  antiquaries  to 
place  this  celebrated  temple  in  or  near  the  Summa 
Sacra  Via  f^  and  it  has  also  been  placed  by 
Signer  Rosa,  the  able  director  of  the  excavations 
at  Rome,  far  within  the  modern  inclosures  of  the 
Palatine  Hill.  No  satisfactory  proof  can  be  found 
of  either  position,  and  there  is  good  ground  for 
believing  that  the  temple  of  Stator  was  close  to 
the  Forum,  at  the  bottom  of  the  Sacred  Way. 
The  principal  argument  deduced  from  ancient 
authors  upon  which  Becker  relies  for  placing  the 
Temple  of  Stator  near  the  Summa  Sacra  Via  is 
founded  on  a  comparison  of  the  authorities  prov- 
ing tliat  the  equestrian  statue  of  Cloelia  was 
erected  at  the  top  of  the  Sacred  Way  ^  with  a 
somewhat   obscure  passage    of  Pliny,   which    is 

«»«  See  Becker,  Handbuch,  i.  112  ;  Burn,  Rome  and  the  Campagna, 
p.  161 ;  Smith's  Diet.  Geog.  art.  Roma,  ii.  727. 

9  Cloelia  virgo,  una  ex  obsidibus  .  .  .  dux  agminis  virginum  inter 
tela  hostium  Tiberim  tranavit  .  .  .  Romani  novam  in  femina  virtutem 
novo  genere  honoris,  statua  equestri,  donavere.  In  summa  Sacra  via 
fuit  posita  virgo  insidens  equo.     Liv.  ii.  13. 

Equestri  insidens  statuae  in  Sacra  via,  celeberrimo  loco,  Cloelia 
exprobrat  iuvenibus  nostris  pulvinum  ascendentibus,  in  ea  illos  urbe 
sic  ingredi,  in  qua  etiam  feminas  equo  donavimus.  Seneca,  Consol. 
ad  Marciam.  16. 

'AvitKeiTat  de  Tt)v  Upav  oSov  iropevofikvoiQ  elg  IlaXaTiov  dvdpidg  avTtjg 
t^tTTTTOc,  ov  Tiveg  oh  r^g  KXoiXlag  dXXd  T^g  OvaXepiag  ilvai  Xkyovmv. 
Plutarch.  Popl.  19. 

'AvaKurai  yovv  t<pnrTrog  cIkuiv  yvvaiKug  IttI  Tt~ig  bSov  Trjg  tfpdg  Xfyo- 
Hhtjg,  ill'  oi  ^iv  TTtg  KXoiXiag  oi  Se  riig  OvaXfpiag  Xeyovmv  elvai. 
Plutarch,  de  Virt.  Mulier.  (ed.  Reiske,  p.  28.) 

Cui  data  est  statua  equestris,  quam  in  Sacra  via  hodieijue  conspi- 
cimus.  Serv.  ad  Aen.  viii.  646.  Dionys.  v.  35.  (Note  864)  Varro, 
R.  R.  i.  2.  (Note  805.) 


311 


CHAP. 
IX. 


Temple  of 
Stator 
misplaced 
in  Sunmia 
Sacra  Via. 


Argument 
in  favour 
of  this 
position. 


Equestrian 
statue  of 
Cloelia  in 
Summa 
Sacra  Via. 


312 


CHAP. 

IX. 


Statue  in 
vestibule  of 
Turquin. 


THE  ROMAN  FOIIUM. 

thouglit  to  show  tliat  this  statue  stood  opposite  to 
tlie  Temple  of  Stator.''''    The  validity  of  the  argu- 
ment depends  upon  the  true  meaning  of  this  pas- 
sage, in   which,  after  alluding   to  the  statue  of 
Cloelia  as  an  early  work  actually  existing,  Pliny 
adds,  that  Annius  Fetialis  on  the  contrary  asserted 
that  the  equestrian  statue,  which  was  (in  Annius' 
time)  oi)posite  the  temple  of  Stator  in  the  vesti- 
bule of  the  house  of  Superbus,  represented  Valeria 
the  daughter  of  Publicola.'     It  is  argued,  that,  as 
this  famous    female   equestrian    statue    was,    by 
Livy's  testimony,  in   the  Summa  Sacra  Via,  and, 
by  the  testimony  of  Annius,  in  the  vestibule  of 
Tarquin's  house  opposite  the  Temple  of  Stator,  the 
Temple  of  Stator  and  the  house  of  Tarquin  must 
have  been  on  or  near  the  Summa  Sacra  Via.  This 
argument  cannot  be  met,  as  has  been  suggested,^ 
by    supposing   that  Pliny  spoke  of  two    clearly 
different    statues,    one   of  Cloelia,    the    other  of 
Valeria,     since    he     introduces    the     opinion    of 
Annius  as  contradictory   to   the  tradition  about 
Cloelia's  statue  ;   and  the    difference  of  opinion 
about  the  statue  on  the  Sacred  Way,  which  some 
supposed  to  represent  Cloelia  and  some  Valeria, 

*««  Becker,  Handbucb,  i.  112. 

'  Equestrium  tamen  origo  perquam  vetus  est,  cum  feminis  etiam 
honore  comraunicato.  Cloeliae  enini  statua  est  equestris  . . .  E  diverso 
Annius  Fetialis  equestrem,  quae  fuerit  contra  lovis  Statoris  aedem 
in  vestibulo  Superbi  domus,  Valeriae  fuisse  Publicolae  consulis  filiae. 
Piin.  N.  H.  XXX iv.  13. 

^  Diet.  Gcog.  art.  Roma,  ii   728. 


'! 


J 


111 

r 
I  . 


STATUE  OF  CLOELIA. 

is  twice  mentioned  by  Plutarch.'^'  But  Pliny's 
language,  while  it  implies  that  the  statue  men- 
tioned by  Annius  was,  or  might  be,  the  same  as 
that  generally  known  as  Cloelia,  also  indicates 
that  the  site  in  which  Annius  found  it  was  not  the 
ordinary  or  actual  site  of  Cloelia's  statue,  which 
he  probably  thought  too  well  known  to  be  men- 
tioned. If,  as  Pliny  seems  to  have  believed,  it 
was  the  same  work,  it  must  have  been  placed  for 
a  time  in  the  vestibule  of  Tarquin's  house. 

Dionysius,  who  spent  twenty- two  years  in  Rome, 
from  B.C.  30  to  8,  did  not  find  the  statue  of  Cloelia 
in  its  proper  place  upon  the  Sacred  Way,  and  was 
told  that  it  had  been  removed  on  the  occasion  of 
a  fire  Avhich  had  broken  out  in  some  neighl)ouring 
buildings.'     But   Seneca  and  Servius   at  a  later 
date  speak  of  it  as  actually  to  be  seen  on  the 
Sacred  Way,'  and  Pliny  describes  it  as  still  exist- 
ing in  his  own  time.     Its  disappearance,  there- 
fore, during  the  residence  of  Dionysius  at  Rome 
was  only   temporary.     Possibly  it    may  at  that 
very  time  have  been   removed  for  safety  to  the 
vestibule  of  the  house  of  Tarquin.     However  this 
locality  of  the  statue  referred  to  bv  Annius  mav 

««3  Plutarch.  Popl.  19;  Id.  de  Virt.  Mulier.     (Note  859.) 

*  KXoi\('^  ^i  Ty  7rap0ip(f,  (jTumv  eiK^vog  xaXKriQ  t^orrav,  i)v  avidtaav 
km  Tng  Updf:  oSou  tFiq  ei'q  rt)v  ayopdv  (j>epov(T,)g  o'l  tu,v  Trap9evutv  Trariptg. 
Tavrrjp  yfit7g  fitv  ovk  hi  K6ipivr]v  e'vpofiev.  fXiyero  dt  on  tpTrpii^wg  mpi 
Tiig  nXijaiov  oi'k'iag  yevo^hiir  t)<p(tvi(TOii.     Dion^s.  v.  35. 

*  Seneca,  Coiibol.  ad  Marciaiii,    10;    Servius   ad   Aen.  viii    646 
(Note  859.) 


313 


CHAP. 
IX. 


Ar<i;nment 
answered. 


Statue  of 
Cloelia,  not 
found  by 
Dionysius 
in  the 
Satred 
Way, 


hut  ufter- 
wards  re- 
stored. 


314 


CHAP. 

IX. 


THE  ROMAN  FORUM. 

be  explained,  it  is  impossible  to  form  from  Pliny's 
words  any  trustworthy  conclusion  as  to  the  position 
of  the  house  of  Tarquin  or  the  Temple  of  Stator. 

Becker's  other  arguments  are  founded  upon  the 
passage  of  Plutarch  hereafter  cited,  which  to 
an  ordinary  apprehension  appears  expressly  to 
contradict  his  position,  and  upon  the  natural 
formation  of  the  ground,  which  afforded  the 
easiest  access  to  the  Palatine  Hill  by  the  ridge 
on  which  stands  the  Arch  of  Titus.'^'  The  last 
argument  suggests  the  probability  that  there  was 
an  ancient  entrance  to  the  Palatine  by  this  route, 
as  we  have  seen  that  there  was  a  roadway  in  later 
times,  but  does  not  prove  that  the  Mugionian  gate 

was  there. 

The  strongest  argument  which  has  occurred  to 
my  own  mind  in  favom-  of  the  received  opinion  is 

I     111      "  »/ 

the  Forum,  derived  from  the  description  by  Dionysius  of  the 
battle  between  Romulus  and  Tatius.  The  events 
which  were  believed  to  have  given  occasion  for 
the  foundation  of  the  temple  were  the  flight  of  the 
Romans  before  the  Sabines,  and  the  staying  of  that 
flight  by  divine  interposition.  Where  the  battle 
was  stayed  the  Temple  of  Stator  was  erected. 
We  may  assume,  therefore,  that  an  historian,  who 
in  the  Augustan  age  undertook  to  describe  the 
battle,  would  have  in  his  mind  the  position  of  the 
temple.     Dionysius  places  the  battle-field  on  the 

"««  Becker,  Handbuch,  i.  113. 


Dionysius' 
narrative 
of  the 


III 


•'  \\ 


•f 


\ 


L' 


I 


i. 


1 


11 


BATTLE  IN  THE  FORUM. 

ground  between  the  hostile  camps,  that  is,  between 
the  Palatine  and  the  Capitol,  the  site  of  the  future 
Forum.     He  describes  the  pursuit  of  the  Romans 
by  the  Sabines  as  far  as  the  gates  of  tlie  city,  and 
the  turning  of  the  battle  there.     The  retreat  of 
the  Sabines  to  their  camp  from  this  point  he  re- 
presents as  difficult,  because  they  were  pursued 
from  higher  ground,  and  through  a  hollow  way.^^^ 
Romulus,  he  says,  afterwards  dedicated  a  temple 
to  Jupiter  Stator  by  the  Mugionian  gates,  which 
led    into    Palatium  out  of  the  Sacred  Way,  be- 
cause it  was  there  that  the  deity  interposed  to 
stay  the  flight  of  the  army.'     The  description 
here  given  of  the  Sabine  retreat  seems  somewhat 
inappropriate  to  the  open  level  of  the  Forum.   On 
the  other  hand  it  fits  not  inaptly  with  the  hollow 
slope  between   the  Palatine  hill   and   the  Velia, 
down  which  the   Sacred  Way  was  carried,  and 
appears,  therefore,  to  favour  the  supposition  that 
the  Mugionian  gate  was  at  the  top  of  the  Sacred 
Way.     The  force  of  this  argument  is,  however, 

"«'  Kai  TrpoeWihmg  ei'g  to  fiera^v  riov  ffrparoTrfdiov  x^P^ov,  kt\ 

e/c  TO  avTo  Ttp  irpoT^ptp  x'^P^'P  (rvvi\96pT(g  dxpi  vvktoc  ^fiaxovro 
....   Kai   oi  ^aiSlvoi  tCiojKoi^  uxpi   rz/c   in'>Xfwg,  ,)dn  ^e   TrXtjirta^oprecj    Tulg 

TTvXaiQ    iireXavvovTai 'Hi^  ^k    airolg   [ovk]   ev7r€rr)g    r)  rrplg  rol 

xdpaKa  dvaxwpi,(Tig,  uTro  Kaev4^t,\ou  re  x^P^ov  Kcii  cid  Koi\T]g  66o~u 
hioKOfiivoiQ.     Dionys.  ii.  41,  42,  43. 

«  'Upd  T€  i^pvaaPTO  Kai  litofiovg  KaBdpwnav  olg  r}v^avTo  /card  Tdg  fidxag 
efolc.  'VojfxvXog  flip  OpOujfrit{j  Aii  Trapd  raTg  KaXovfispaig  MvKujviat  TrvXaig, 
a'i  <}>lpovmp  eig  to  UaXdnop  ^k  T^g  hpdg  o^ov,  '6t,  t/jp  CTpariap  a^Tol 
tpvyovaap  ewoirint  Beog,  vwaKovaag  TaXg  evxaXg,  arripai  Tt  Kai  rrpog  dXKrjv 
TpaTTiaOai.     Dionys.  ii.  50. 


315 


CHAP. 
IX. 


316 


CHAP. 
IX. 


Narrative 
of  Livy. 


Narrative 
of  Plu- 
tarch. 


THE  ROMAN  FORUM. 

somewbat  weakened  when  we  find  that  Dionysius 
in  the  same  part  of  his  narrative  describes  the 
site  of  the  Forum  itself  as  a  boHow,  which  was 
filled  up  in  order  to  adapt  it  to  its  future  use.'^' 

Livy,  in  bis  account  of  the  same  fight,  is  more 
distinct  in  confining  the  battle-field  to  the  site  of 
the  Forum.  The  two  indications  of  locality 
which  he  gives  are,  first,  that  the  Romans  were 
driven  back  to  the  old  gate  of  Palatium  when 
Romulus  addressed  his  vow  to  Jupiter;  and, 
secondly,  that  Mettus  Curtius  descending  from  the 
Capitol  had  routed  the  Romans  along  the  whole 
area  which  was  afterwards  the  Forum,  and  was 
near  the  ffate  of  Palatium  when  Romulus  charged 
and  drove  him  back.^'  In  this  description  the 
scene  of  the  rout  is  measured  by  the  length  of 
the  Forum;  and,  if  we  were  guided  by  this  indi- 
cation alone,  we  should  have  no  difficulty  in 
placing  the  Temple  of  Stator  and  the  old  gate  of 
the  Palatine  city  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the 
extremity  of  the  Forum  most  remote  from  the 

Capitol. 

Plutarch,  telling  the   same  story,   places    the 
battle-field  in  the  future  Forum  between  the  hills 

8«9  Dionys.  ii.  50.  (Note  1.) 

■0  Confestiin  Romana  inclinatur  acies,  fusaque  est  ad  vetereni 
pertain  Palatil.  Romulus  .  .  .  lupiter  .  .  .  inquit  ...  hie  ego  tibi 
templum  Statori  lovi  .  .  .  voveo.  .  .  .  Mettus  Curtius  ab  Sabinis 
princeps  ab  arce  decucurrerat,  et  effusos  egerat  Romanos  toto  quan- 
tum foro  spatium  e^t,  nee  procul  iam  a  porta  Palatil  erat  ...  In 
cum  .  .  .  Romulus  impetum  facit.     Liv.  i.  12. 


^1 


SITE  OF  THE  TEMPLE  OF  STATOR. 


317 


occupied  by  the  rival  nations.  He  describes  the  chap. 
incident  of  the  Lacus  Curtius,  the  flight  of  the  -^- 
Romans  to  Palatium,  the  vow  of  Romulus,  and 
the  rallying  of  his  army.  "  They  stood  first,"  he 
says,  "  where  now  is  built  the  Temple  of  Jupiter 
Stator,  which  may  be  interpreted  Stayer ;  then, 
re-forming  their  ranks,  they  drove  back  the 
Sabines  to  the  now  so-called  Regia  and  Temple 
of  Vesta."  It  will  be  observed  that  the  narrative 
never  leaves  the  familiar  localities  of  theForum.^'^ 
To  come  to  more  direct  evidence,  the  Temple  Direct 

evidence 

of  Stator  is  expressly  asserted  by  Plutarch,  in  his  of  Piu- 
life  of  Cicero,  to  have  been  in  the  beginning  of 
the  Sacred  Way,  as  you  go  up  to  the  Palatine.^ 
The  Forum  l>eing  naturally  taken  as  the  starting- 
point,  the  beginning  of  the  Sacred  Way  would  l)e 
the  part  nearest  the  Regia,  where  the  Sacred 
Way,  in  its  ordinary  sense,  commenced.  And 
this  is  made  more  clear  by  the  words  "  as  you  go 
up  to  the  Palatine."  The  Summa  Sacra  Via,  if 
treated  as  the  beginning  of  the  Sacred  Way, 
would  be  the  beginning  to  persons  going  down  to 

«"  'Exofitvr)£  ^^  '''nC  (iKpaq  viro  tCjv  ^aliivwv  .  .  .  .  u  yap  fisraKv  tottoq  tv 
(p  (rvfiTriTTTeiv  efifWov  vtto  ttoWwv  Xucpojv  Trf^pux^fiwoq  kt\.  .  .  tTvxt  ^t 
....  €yKaTa\t\ti<p9tu  riXfia  (5a9v  .  .  Kara  Trfv  vvv  ovaav  ayopdv  .  .  .  o 
fiiv  ovp  roTTOf  .  .  Kovpriog  XaKKog  ovofid^srai  .  .  .  evtSioicuv  oi  Tiofialoi 
Ktti  ipvyy  TTpbg  to  naXdvTiov  tx^opovv  .  .  .  taTt\aav  oov  TrpwTOV  ov  vvv  6 
TOV  Atog  Tov  I,TdT<opog  'i^pvTai  vtwg,  ov  iiriaTagiov  av  Tig  tpfiijvtvffEifv. 
elra  avvamrifravTfg  ttoXiv  tuxrav  bir'iaut  Tovg  ^afSivovg  erri  Tt)v  vvv 
'Pi]yiav  npo<ynyoptvonivi]v  Kai  to  T7]g  '¥,<7Tiag  itpov.   Plutarch.  Rom.  18. 

2  '\?ipvit'ivov  €V  dpxy  rijg  Upcig  bdov  wpbg  to  UaXdTiov  dvi6vTo.'V. 
Plutarch.  Cic.  16.  (Note  766  ) 


318 


CHAP. 
IX. 


Ovid. 


Appian. 


Stator 
Temple 
south  of 
Sacra  Via, 
next  to 
Regia. 


THE  ROMAN  FORUM. 

the  Forum,  not  to  tliose  going  up  to  the  Palatine. 
It  will  l)e  remembered  that  Ovid  places  the  Temple 
of  Stator  before  the  face  of  the  Palatine  hill. 

Tempus  idem  Stator  aedis  liabet,  qiiam  Romulus  olim 
Ante  Palatini  condidit  ora  iugi.^'^ 

And  in  another  passage,  which  will  be  again  re- 
ferred to,  he  brings  it  into  close  connection  with 
the  Regia.^ 

The  proximity  of  this  temple  to  the  Forum  is 
confirmed  by  a  passage  of  Appian,  in  a\  hich,  de- 
scribing the  contest  between  Caesar  and  Bibulus, 
he  savs  that  the  latter,  after  havinii;  his  fasces 
broken  and  some  of  his  officers  wounded  in  the 
Forum,  was  compelled  by  his  fi^iends  to  take 
refuge  in  the  neighbouring  temple  of  Jupiter 
Stator.^ 

Thus  confirmed,  we  can  have  no  hesitation  in 
accepting  the  statement  of  Plutarch  as  to  the 
position  of  the  Stator  Temple  at  the  beginning  of 
the  Sacra  Via  in  the  obvious  sense  which  we 
have  attributed  to  it.  The  temple  was,  as  we 
have  seen,  close  to  a  gate  of  the  Palatine  city  ;  it 
was,  therefore,  on  the  south  side  of  the  Sacred 
Way,  and,  being  at  the  beginning  of  the  street, 

8-3  Fast.  vi.  793. 

*  Trist.  iii.  1.  32.     (Note  879.) 

*  'AXXd  TOP  fiiv  uKovra  vTri^-ijyayov  oi  0t\ot  fc  to  TrXj/fxtov  hpov  tov 
Knjo-i'ov  [Sr/jo-ioy  Gelenius]  Atog.  Appian.  Bell.  Civ.  ii.  11.  I  have 
assumed  that  the  reading  2n/<Ttoi7  is  correct.  Compare  Plutarch.  Cic. 
16.  TO  TOV  '2tt}(tiov  Aio£  \fpov  ov  "ETiiTMpa   Piofialoi  KaXoiiffiv.   (Note  766) 


SACRA  VIA  AND  NOVA  VIA. 

we  may  conclude  that  it  was  the  next  building  to 
the  Reo'ia  on  that  side.®'^ 

The  Mugionian  Gate  is  described  by  Dionysius 
as  leading  into  Palatium  out  of  the  Sacred  Way.' 
But  we  have  seen  from  other  authors  that  this 
gate  was  above  the  highest  part  of  the  Nova  Via, 
and  the  house  of  Tarquin,  which  was  close  to  it, 
overlooked  the  latter  street.  This  collocation  of 
objects  indicates  that  the  Nova  Via  at  or  near  its 
highest  part  communicated  with  the  Sacred  AVay. 
It  is  probable  that  this  communication  was  formed 
between  the  Regia  and  the  Temple  of  Stator,  so 
that  the  latter  was  at  the  corner  of  the  Nova  Via, 
and  faced  towards  the  Forum  and  Capitol.  Op- 
posite to  its  south  side  would  be  the  vestibule  of 
the  house  of  Tarquin,  which  w^ould  thus  turn  its 
side  to  the  Nova  Via.  Livy^s  story  of  Tanaquil's 
address  to  the  people  from  the  windows  conveys 
the  impression  that  the  front  of  the  palace  was 
not  in  this  direction.^  Close  adjoining  was  the 
Mugionian  Gate,  which  must  therefore  have  been 
at  the  northern  corner  of  the  ancient  Palatine  city. 

The  position  of  these  monuments,  as  thus  deter- 
mined, agrees  most  accurately  with  Ovid's  well- 
known   description  of  the  route  from  the  Forum 

*'*  The  Stator  temple  was  in  the  fourth  Region  with  the  Sacred 
\Vay  (Aedem  lovis  Statoris,  Viam  Sacram.  Notitia  in  Reg.  iv.) 
The  Regia  was  probably  with  the  other  buildings  of  Vesta  in  the 
eighth,  and  the  Porta  Mugionia,  as  part  of  the  Palatine,  in  the  tenth 
Region.  *  Dionysius,  ii.  50.     (Note  868.) 

In  Palatio  Mucionis  (porta)  a  mugitu,  quod  ea  pecus  in  [bucitatum] 
antiquum  oppidum  exigebant.     Varro,  L.  L.  v.  34  (45). 

'  Liv.  i.  41.     (Note  840.) 


319 


CHAP. 
IX. 


Communi- 
cation be- 
tween the 
Sacra  Via 
and  Nova 
Via. 


House  of 
Tarquin. 


Porta  Mu- 
gionia. 


I 


f, 


320 


THE  ROMAN  FORUM. 


PORTA  MUGIONIA. 


321 


CHAP. 
IX. 


Palace  of 
Aujjfnstus 
near  the 
north  end 
of  the 
Palatine. 


Temple  of 
Apollo 


of  Caesar  to  the  Palatine,  where,  after  mentioning 
the  Via  Sacra,  the  Temple  of  Vesta,  and  the  Regia, 
he  immediately  takes  a  turn  to  the  right  and 
points  out  the  Gate  of  Palatium  and  the  Temple 
of  Stator.  We  learn  from  the  same  passage  of 
Ovid  that  the  vestibule  of  the  palace  of  Augustus 
stood  in  sight  from  the  same  spot,  and  that  the 
temple  and  library  of  Apollo  were  approached  from 
the  neighbourhood  by  a  lofty  flight  of  steps.^'^ 

The  position  of  the  buildings  of  Augustus  near 
this  northern  end  of  the  Palatine  is  confirmed  by 
the  fact,  that  the  libraries  attached  to  the  Temple 
of  Apollo  were  burned,  with  the  Temple  of  Vesta, 
in  the  great  lire,  which  in  the  reign  of  Commodus 
destroyed  the  Temple  of  Peace  and  the  Sacra  Via.^^ 
This  quarter  of  the  city,  with  its  noble  mansions, 
appears  to  have  escaped  the  Neronian  conflagra- 
tion, in  which  the  Temple  of  Vesta  and  the  Regia 
had  perished.^ 

*^^     Paruit  et  ducens,  Haec  sunt  fora  Caesaris,  inquit; 

Haec  est  a  sacris  quae  via  nomen  habet; 
Hie  locus  est  Vestae,  qui  Pallada  servat  et  igncm  ; 

Hie  fuit  antiqui  regia  parva  Numae. 
Inde  petens  dextram,  Porta  est,  ait,  ista  Palati, 

Hie  Stator,  hie  priraum  condita  Roma  fuit. 
Singula  dum  miror,  video  fulgentibus  arm  is 

Conspicuos  postes  tectaque  digna  deo. 

#  4>  *  4> 

Inde  tenore  pari  gradibus  sublimia  celsis 

Ducor  ad  intonsi  Candida  templa  dei. — Ovid.  Trist.  iii.  T.  27. 
^•^  'HviKa  TO  riiQ  E/jO//i'»/(,"  rifievog  oXov  txavOrj,  Kai  Kara  tu  TlaXariov  «i 
fieydXat  /3«/3\io0/7»cat.     Galen,  de  comp.  med.  i.  1.     Dio  Cass.  Ixxii.  24. 
(Note  777.)    Herodian,  i.  14. 

'  Tac  Ann.  xv.  41  (note  290)  ;  Ascon.  ad  Cic.  p.  Scaur,  (note  779); 
Sueton.  de  Gram.  17. 


* 


At  the  end  of  the  Nova  Via,  in  front  of  the 
Temple  of  Stator,  there  appears  to  have  been 
either  a  wide  road  or  a  small  open  Place,  since 
this  spot  was  occasionally  used  for  public  sales. 
The  furniture  from  the  house  of  Pompey  was 
here  sold,  after  his  death  and  the  confiscation  of 
his  property,  by  order  of  Mark  Antony .^^^  Sales 
of  this  nature  generally  took  place  in  the  Forum.^ 
Pompey^s  house  was  in  the  Carinae,^  the  short 
road  from  which  to  the  Forum  probably  reached 
the  Sacred  Way  not  far  from  the  Temple  of 
Stator/ 

The  proximity  of  the  Mugionian  Gate  to  the 
Sacra  Via,  indicated  by  the  above-cited  expres- 
sion of  Dionysius.  as  well  as  by  its  nearness  to  the 
Stator  temple,  which  was  itself  in  that  street, 
shows  that  the  gate  must  have  stood  near  the 
bottom  of  the  slope  of  the  Palatine  hill,  probably 
on  the  line  of  the  city  boundary  as  sketched  by 
Tacitus/  The  limits  of  the  hill  are  thus  brought 
very  near  to  the  Regia,  which   is  described  by 

'"  Ilasta  posita  pro  aede  lovis  Statoris,  bona  .  .  .  Cn.  Pompeii 
Magni  voci  acerbissimae  subiecta  praeconis  .  .  .  Maximus  vini  nume- 
rus  fuit,  permagnum  optimi  pondus  argenti,  pretiosa  vestis,  multa  et 
lauta  supellex.     Cic.  Phil.  ii.  26,  27. 

-  Sic  par  est  agere  cum  civibus,  non,  ut  bis  iam  vidimus,  hastam 
in  foro  ponere  et  bona  civium  voci  subiicere  praeconis.  Cic.  Off. 
ii.  23. 

3  Sueton.  Tib.  15. 

*  See  before,  p.  282. 

*  Dionys  ii.  50.  (Note  868.)  Tac.  Ann.  xii.  24.  (Note  802.)  This 
would  agree  with  Ovid's  description  of  the  site  of  Stator,  anie 
Palatini  ora  iugi.     Fast  vi.  764.     (Note  873.) 


CHAP. 
IX. 


Open  Place 
in  front  of 
Stator. 

Sale  of 
goods  of 
Pompey. 


Site  of  the 
Porta  Mu- 
gionia. 


322 


THE  ROMAN  FORUM. 


PORTA  ROMANULA. 


323 


CHAP. 
IX. 


Servius  as  situated  at  the  root  of  the  Palatine/^^ 
This  extension  of  the  bounds  of  the  Palatine  in  the 
direction  of  the  Regia  justifies  the  description  of 
the  Forum  as  lying  between  the  Capitoline  and 
Palatine  Hills,  a  description  which  misled  the 
older  Topographers/  and  which,  looking  at  the 
present  limits  of  the  Palatine  Hill,  appears  inaccu- 
rate, the  great  rise  of  level  in  the  lower  ground 
near  the  Regia  having  thrown  the  base  of  that 
hill  in  modern  times  considerably  further  back 
than  its  ancient  position.  It  w^ill  be  remembered 
that  Cicero,  who  lived  on  this  side  of  the  Palatine, 
was  described  as  a  neighbour  of  Caesar  in  the 
Regia.^ 

Some  few  observations  remain  to  be  added  re- 
specting the  position  of  the  Porta  Romana,  or 
Romanula.  The  evidence  of  classical  authors  on 
this  point  is  soon  collected.  Varro,  upon  the 
subject  of  the  ancient  gates  existing  within  the 
later  walls,  after  mentioning  the  Forta  Mucionis 
in  Palatio,  proceeds  to  say  that  another  gate  was 
Steps  in  the  Called  Romauvda,  from  Rome,  and  that  this  gate 
at  Porta  had  steps  in  the  Nova  Via  at  the  Sacellum  of  Volu- 
pia  ;^  and  in  another  place  he  says,  that  a  sacrifice 


Porta 
Romanula. 


886 


In  radicibus  Palatii  finibusque  Romani  fori.  Servius  ad  Aen. 
viii.  363.     (Note  297.) 

^  Dionys.  ii.  66.     See  before,  p.  2. 

'  See  before,  p.  285. 

^  Praeterea  intra  muros  video  portas  dici.  In  Palatio  Mucionis  .  . 
Alteram  Romanulam  ab  Roma  dictam,  quae  habit  gradus  in  Nova 
via  ad  Volupiae  sacellum.     Varro,  L.  L.  v.  34.  (Note  877.) 


to  Acca  Larentia  was  oflfered  in  the  Velabrum 
where  one  came  out  into  the  Nova  Via,  and  that 
some  said  this  was  at  the  tomb  of  Acca,  like  a 
similar  ceremony  performed  by  the  priests  at  a 
neighbouring  spot  in  honour  of  the  Dii  Manes 
Serviles, — both  which  localities  were  outside  the 
ancient  city,  and  not  far  from  the  Porta  Roma- 
nula.'^' 

The  only  other  evidence  is  that  of  Festus,  w4io 
tells  us  that  the  Porta  Romana  was  founded  by 
Romulus  at  the  bottom  of  the  Clivus  Victoriae, 
where  the  ground  Avas  formed  into  a  square  with 
steps  ;  and  that  the  name  of  Roman  Gate  was 
principally  given  to  it  by  the  Sabines,  because  it 
was  the  nearest  entrance  to  Rome.^ 

The  allusion  to  the  Sabines,  whose  connection 
with  the  Porta  Romanula  we  may  ascribe  to 
a  conjecture  of  the  Roman  antiquary,  appears  to 
refer  to  the  old  story  of  the  occupation  of  the 
Capitol  by  Tatius  when  Romulus  held  the  Pala- 
tine, and  lends  some  probability  to  the  position  of 
this  gate  on  the  Capitoline  or  north-western  side 
of  the  Palatine  Hill. 

We  learn  from  the  above  authorities  tliat  the 
o-ate  on  its    outer   side    abutted    on    the    lower 


»''">  Varro,  vi.  3  (58).  (Note  846.) 

'  Sed  porta  Romana  instituta  est  a  Romulo  infimo  clivo  Victoriae, 
qui  locus  gradibus  in  quadram  formatus  est :  appellata  autem  Romana 
a  Sabinis  praecipue,  quod  ea  proximus  aditus  erat  Romam.  Festus, 
ed.  Mul.  p.  262. 

y2 


CHAP. 
IX. 


Porta  Ro- 
manula, 
near  the 
Vela- 
brum. 


Porta  Ro- 
mana 
infimo 
clivo  17c- 
torlae. 


Porta  Ro- 
manula at 
the  bottom 
of  the  Pala- 
tine Hill. 


p 


CHAP. 
IX. 


324  THE  ROMAN  FORUM. 

part  of  the  Nova  Via,  near  tlie  point  where  the 
street  entered  the  Velabrum ;  and  that  on  the 
other  side  of  the  gate,  within  the  ancient  city, 
there  was  a  road  ascending  the  hill  called  the 
Clivus  Victoriae.  From  its  position  near  the 
Velabrum  it  is  manifest  that  the  Porta  Roma- 
nula,  like  the  Porta  Mugionia,  was  at  or  near  the 
bottom  of  the  slope  and  not  on  the  crest  of  the 
Palatine  Hill.  It  has  been  suggested  by  Becker 
that  it  is  probably  this  egress  from  the  Palatine 
which  is  meant  in  the  description  of  Otho's 
route,  when  he  left  Galba  sacrificing  in  the  temple 
of  Apollo,  and  proceeded  by  the  back  of  the 
Palatine,  through  the  buildings  of  Tiberius,  into 
the  Velabrum,  and  so  to  his  rendezvous  with  the 
mutinous  soldiers  at  the  Milliarium  Aureum.^^^ 

The  site  of  the  Clivus  Victoriae  is  unknown. 
We  may  conjecture  that,  like  other  roads  leading 
into  primitive  Italian  cities,  it  was  not  a  street 
adapted  for  wheeled  vehicles,  since  the  gateway 
seems  to  have  been  approached  by  steps;  and  it 
may  therefore  have  risen  by  a  very  steep  ascent. 
Sacrum  of   Its  name  was  probably  derived  from  the  sanctuary 

Victory 

above  the  of  Victory,  whicli  Dionysius  describes  in  con- 
nection with  the  Lupercal,  attributing  the  origin 
of  both  to  Evander  and  the  Arcadians.  The 
Lupercal  was,  as  we  know  from  the  same  author, 
situated  under  the  hill  upon  the  street  leading  to 
the  Circus.     The  sanctuary  of  Victory  was  on 

8«2  Tac.  Hist.  i.  27  ;  Sueton.  Otho.  6  ;  Plutarch.  Galb.  24.  (Note  92.) 


CLIVUS  VICTORIAE. 


325 


Clivns 
Victoriae. 


.*F« 


, 


I 

j 


the  crest  of  the  hill,'-"  apparently  above  the  Luper-     chap. 
cal,  and  therefore  on  or  near  the  west  corner  of      — 
the  more  elevated  part  of  the  Palatine. 

One  of  the  fragments  of  the  Capitoline  Plan  ^^p;;^^'"^ 
exhibits  a  portion  of  what  appears  a  narrow  lane, 
inscribed  [cliJvvs  victoria [e],  with  buildings  on 
both  sides,  and  some  other  buildings  near,  in- 
scribed SEVERi  ET  [an]tonini  av[gg]  nn  ;  which 
shows  that  the  hill  of  Victory  passed  near  some 
constructions  of  the  emperors  Severus  and  Cara- 

calla. 

Recent  explorations  within  the  Palatine  have  Supi^scd 
disclosed  a  street  of  some  length  near  the  north-  victoriae^ 
east  side  of  the  hill,  running  nearly  parallel  with  Romanuia. 
the  Sacra  Via,  and  terminating  at  its  lowest  ])art 
in  an  arch  near  the  back  of  the  church  of  Santa 
Maria  Liberatrice.     The  arch  is  at  a  level  con- 
siderably higher  than   the  modern  church  ;  and 
outside  the  arch  are  some  traces  of  a  road  along 
the  north-western  slope  in  the  direction  of  the 
Velal)rum.      The   arch    has   l)een   identified   by 
Signor  Rosa,  the  zealous  and  able  director  of  the 
excavations,  with  the  Porta  Romanuia,  and  the 
street    by    which  it  is  approached  from  within 

893  AovnepKuXiov  .  .  .  i)v  ci  rb  apxaloi'  utg  Xtyerai  <T7r,)\aiov  imb  t<^ 
Xo0v  ^'fya  .  .  .  tTTi  ^t  ry  jcopy^y  tov  Xo^ow  rb  n/c  Nki;?  r'^f^evoQ  l^ikovrtq, 

kt\.  Dionys.  i.  32. 

To  ^£  avrpov  H  oh  i)  Xi/3«c  ttc^i^orai  t<{,  naXavrup  irpoijtinco^onrjutvov 
WiKwrai  Kara  Hiv  im  rbv'XTrirucpoiiov  tp'^povaav  b^oV  Kai  niievbq  ^ariv 
avTOv  Tr\r)<jiov  tvOa  eUutv  Kelrai  tov  ttciGovc,  XvKaiva  TrmdioiQ  cvffi  tovq 
fxaoTOVS  irnxovrra,  x«^«n  TToninara  TraXaiac  tpynaiag.     Dionys.  i.  79. 


326 


CHAP. 
IX. 


THE  ROMAN  FORUM. 

with  the  Clivus  Victoriae.     And  this  theory  has 
been  adopted  by  other  antiquaries.  ^^^ 

It  is  difficult  to  reconcile  this  identification  with 
some  of  the  conclusions  to  which  we  have  been 
led  by  the  evidence  of  ancient  authorities.  In  the 
first  place,  it  is  inconsistent  with  the  testimony  of 
Varro  that  the  Porta  Romanula  was  near  the 
Velabrum.  It  also  involves  this  further  difficulty. 
The  Nova  Via  passed,  as  we  have  seen,  near  the 
Temple  of  Vesta,  between  that  temple  and  the 
Grove  of  Vesta,  which  was  itself  on  the  Palatine 
slope.^  Now  the  Temple  of  Vesta  has  been  found 
in  front  of  the  church  of  Santa  Maria  Liberatrice 
at  a  much  lower  level.  The  Nova  Via  must 
therefore  have  been  at  this  point  very  much  lower 
down  the  slope  of  the  Palatine  Hill  than  the  arch 
in  question,  and  at  some  distance  from  it  ;  and 
this  arch  cannot  therefore  have  had  steps  in  the 
Nova  Via,  as  we  know  to  have  been  the  case  with 
the  Porta  Romanula.*^ 

It  may  be  further  ol)served  that  the  buildings 
on  each  side  of  the  supposed  Clivus  Victoriae 
have  been  excavated,  and  do  not  at  any  part  cor- 
respond with  those  shown  on  the  Capitoline  Plan. 

It  is  clear,  therefore,  that  this  identification 
cannot  be  accepted.  It  proceeds,  we  may  also 
remark,  upon  a  wrong  assumption  as  to  the  posi- 

*^*  Burn's  Rome  and  the  Campagna,  pp.  35,  160. 
*  Liv.  V.  32;  Cic.  de  Div.  i.  45.  (Note  848.) 
«  Varro,  v.  3i  (46).  (Note  889.) 


i 


PORTA  ROMANULA. 

tion  of  the  Porta  Mugionia,  which  has  been  sup- 
posed to  have  been  at  the  top  of  the  Sacred  Way, 
and  at  some  distance  from  the  north  corner  of 
the  Palatine,  whereas  the  position  which  we  have 
been  led  to  assign  to  it  is  upon  the  lower  slope 
not  far  from  this  arch,  to  which  probably  a  steep 
pathway  led  from  the  latter  gate.^^^ 

Our  researches  in  this  and  the  preceding 
chapter  have  led  us  up  to  the  boundaries  of 
Palatium,  upon  the  two  sides  which  were  nearest 
to  the  Roman  Forum. 

The  topography  of  the  Palatine  Hill  consti- 
tutes a  separate  sul)ject,  into  which  it  is  not 
proposed  to  enter  in  the  present  work. 

8"  See  before,  pp.  319,  321. 


327 


(    ( 


*^/? 

/ 


V 


\ 


=•    t  i 


V 


CHAP. 
IX. 


APPENDIX. 


4 


Catalogue  of  the  Fourth  and  Eighth  Regions  of 
Rome,  from  the  Curiosum  Urbis  and  Notitia. 

The  two  slightly  differing  lists  of  monuments  contained  in  the 
fourteen  Augustan  Regions,  which  have  become  known  under 
these  names,  may  be  regarded  as  successive  editions  of  the  same 
work.  The  former  title,  Curiosum  Urbis  Romae  Regionum 
XIIII,  is  found  in  the  earliest  known  MS. :  but  the  latter  is 
derived  only  from  the  inclusion  of  the  list  in  this  form  in  the 
Notitia  Dignitatum  utriusque  Imperii,  Basil.  1552.  The  origi- 
nal document  appears  from  internal  evidence  to  have  been  com- 
piled in  the  reign  of  Constantine.  The  lists  have  been  printed 
in  various  collections  of  antiquarian  matter,  and  have  been 
edited  by  Prof  L.  Preller  (Die  Regionen  der  Stadt  Rom,  Jena, 
1846)  from  several  MSS.,  the  earliest  of  which  are,  for  the 
Curiosum  the  Vatican  Codex  3321  of  the  eighth  century,  and 
for  the  Notitia  that  of  Vienna  of  the  tenth.  The  two  lists  are 
here  combined.  Words  occurring  in  the  Curiosum  which  are 
wanting  in  the  Notitia  are  printed  in  italics,  and  those  which 
are  found  in  the  latter,  but  do  not  occur  in  the  former,  in 
brackets. 

Regio    Quarta 
Templum  Pacis 

Continct  Porticum  Absidatum,  [Aream  Vulcani,]  Aura  [Aureiim] 
Bucinuni,  Apollinem  Sandaliarium,  Templum  Telluris,  [Horrea  char- 
taria,]  Vigilum  Sororum  [Tigillum  Sororiiim],  Colossum  altum  pedes 
CII  semis,  habet  in  capite  radia  [numero]  VII,  singula  pedum  XXII 
semis,  Metani  sudantem,  Templum  Romae  [et  Veneris],  Aedem  Jovis 
[Statoris],   Viam   Sacram,    Basilicam  Novam  [Constantinianamj  et 


/ 


330 


APPENDIX. 


Pauli,  Tempi  am  Faustinae,  [Basilicam  Panli,]  Forum  Transitorium, 
Subiiram,  Balneum Dafnidis  [Daphnidis].  Vici  VIII,  Aedes  [ Aediculae] 
VIII,  Vicomagistri  XLVIII,  Curatores  II,  Insulae  II  DCCLVII, 
Domos  LXXXVIII,  Horrea  XVIII,  Balnea  LXV,  Lacos  LXXI 
[LXXVIII],  Pistrina  XV.  Continet  pedes  XIII. 

Regio  Octava 
Forum  Romanum  Magnum 

Continet  Rostra  s  III,  Genium  Populi  Romani  [aureum,  et  Equum 
Constantini],  Senatum,  Atrium  Minervae,  Forum  Caesaris,  Augusti, 
Nervae  Traiani,**  Templum  [Divi]  Traiani  et  Columnam  cochlidem 
altam  pedes  CXXVIIS  [CXXVIII  semis],  gradus  intus  habet 
CLXXX[V],  fenestras  XLV,  Cohortes  VI  [Cohortem  sextam] 
Vigilum,  Basilicam  Argentariam,  Templum  Concordiae  €t[j  Um- 
bilicum  Romae,  Templum]  8aturni  et  Vespasiani  et  Titi,  Capi- 
tolium,  Miliarium  Aureum,  Vicum  lugarium,  Graecostadium,  Ba- 
silicam luliam,  Templum  Castorum  et  Minej'vae,  Vestam  [Minerve  et 
Veste],  Horrea  [Germaniciana  et]  Agrippiana,  Aquam  Cernentem 
quatuor  scaros  [Scauros]  sub  eadem  [aede],  Atrium  Caci,  [Vicum 
lugarium,  Vicum  Unguentarium,^]  Porticum  Margaritarium,  Ele- 
phantum  Herbarium.  Vici  XXXIV,  Aedes  [Aediculae]  XXXIV, 
Vicomagistri  XLVIII,  Curatores  II,  Insulae  III  CCCCLXXX, 
Domos  CXXX,  Horrea  XVIII,  Balnea  LXXXVI,  Lacos  CXX, 
Pistrina  XX.  Continet  pedes  XIIII  LXVII. 

"  Preller,  Nervae,  Traiani.  He  gives  reasons  for  considering  two  Fora 
to  be  meant.  As,  however,  the  Forum  of  Nerva  is  included  in  the  fourth 
Region  under  the  name  of  Transitorium,  and  it  seems  improbable  that 
the  same  Forum  should  have  been  included  in  two  Regions  and  be  men- 
tioned in  the  two  by  different  names,  there  can  be  little  doubt  that  the 
above  punctuation,  which  is  that  of  the  earlier  editors,  is  the  true  one. 
See  before,  p.  249. 

^»  In  one  MS.  only  of  the  Notitia,  the  earliest,  the  word  Graecostadium 
occurs  twice,  between  Castorum  and  Vestam,  instead  of  et  Minervae,  and 
again  after  Vicum  Lugularium  (sic)  et  Unguentarium,  in  this  place.  It  is 
omitted  in  the  same  MS.,  as  well  as  Vicum  lugarium,  before  Basilicam 
luliam,  for  which  it  has  Juliae. 


i(. 


INDEX. 


Aemilia  Basilica,  232,  234. 
Aerarium,  29,  193. 
Aius  Locutius,  altar  of,  306,  307. 
Alcibiades,  statue  of,  173. 
Alhucntarii  pucri,  63. 

Ambassadors  murdered,  statues  of,  at  the 

Rostra,  86,  87. 
Amphitheatre,  Flavian,  292. 
Antonius,  L.  statue  of,  89,  240. 
Antoninus,  temple  of,  279. 

Apollo,  temple  of,  320. 
library  of,  320. 

Appiades,  fountain  of,  261. 

Arch  of  Augustus,  68,  140, 141. 
Constantine,  299. 
Domitian,  126,298. 
Fabius,  126. 
Severus,  17,  183. 
Tiberius,  46. 
Titus,  296. 

Area  Vulcani,  162-165. 

site  of,  191. 

Arco  de'  Pantani,  264. 
Argentaria  Basilica,  222. 
Argcntarius  clivus,  223. 
Argiletum,  244-247,  265,  273. 
Arx,  15. 
Asellio,  assassination  of,  133. 

Atrium,  Libertatis,  251-257. 

Minervae,  159,  160,  186. 
Vestae,  120,  125. 

Attus  Navius,  statue  of,  170. 
fig  tree  of,  170. 

Augustus,  arch  of,  68,  140,  141. 
Forum  of,  262-264. 
palace  of,  320. 
statue  of,  89. 

Aurclii  gradus,  81. 


Aurelium  tribunal,  81. 

Aurelius,  M.  bas-relief  of  tiiumph  of,  141. 
statue  of,  18. 

Awnings  of  the  Forum,  85,  93. 

Basilica  Aemilia,  232,  234. 
Argentaria,  222. 
Caii  et  Lucii,  44. 
Constantiniana,  282. 
Julia,  24,  42-46. 
Ol.imia,  12,  13,  11,  167,  168. 
Paulli,  233-239. 
Porcia,  83,  218-222. 
Sempronia,  51,  236. 

Caligula,  palace  of,  106. 

Camillus,  his  temple  of  Concord,  12,  14. 

Canales  inforo^  41. 

Capitoline  hill,  3. 

plan  of  Rome,  12,  26,  184,  255, 
note  697,  267,  note  728,  269, 
note  730,  294,  325. 

Capitolinus  Clivus,  4,  22,  34,  278. 
Career,  5-10. 

Carinae,  wav  leading  to,  out  of  the  Sacred 
way,  269, '282,  303. 

Carmental  Gate,  34. 

Catiline,  house  of,  286. 

Catulus,  Q.  restored  the  Tabularium,  4. 
restored  the  Capitolium,  4, 

Censors,  public  office  of  the,  252. 

Centumviri,  court  of,  45. 

Chalcidicum,  159,  160,  186,  221. 

Cicero,  house  of,  285. 

Clivus  Argcntarius,  223. 

Capitolinus,  4,  22,  34,  278. 
Sacer,  287. 
Victoria,  323, 324. 

Cloaca  Maxima,  84. 

Cloacina,  Sacrum  of,  239. 


H 


332 


INDEX. 


Clodius,  house  of,  283,  28G. 

occupation  of  Castor  lemplc  by, 

104. 

Cloelia,  statue  of,  311-314. 

Column  of  Phocas,  59,  221. 

Colunina  Duilia,  90. 

Maenia,  172, 178,  180,  191. 

Colonnacce,  246, 265. 

Colosseum,  293,  note  615. 

Colossus  of  Nero,  291,  292,  293. 

Comitia  Tributa,  142. 

Comitium,  40,  143-195. 

duration  of,  150,  189. 
exhibitions  in,  148. 
level  of,  144,  189. 
orij;in  of,  145. 
political  use  of,  14(k 
position  of,  150,  187. 
tribunals  of,  146. 
wav  across,  189. 

ConeUmcs,  where  held,  196. 

Concord,  temple  of,  11-17,181. 
inscription  on,  25. 
bronze  Temple  of,  165,  182. 
minor  temples  of,  16. 

Consentum  deum  porticus,  32. 

Constantine,  arch  of,  299. 

basilica  of,  282. 
bas-relief  on  arch  of,  20. 
statue  of,  18. 

Crassus,  house  of,  283. 

Curia,  151-156,  177. 

meaning  of  word,  155. 

orientation  of,  177. 

site  of,  150. 
Curia  Hostilia,  152. 

Julia,  153,  156,  157. 

Curiosum,  Appendix. 

Curtius  Lacus,  73-76. 

Deum  Consentum  porticus,  32. 

Domitian,  equestrian  statute  of,  77. 
arches  of,  126,  298. 

Drusus,  house  of,  285. 

Duilia  columna,  90. 


EinsiedlenMS.,  account  of  Rome  in,  12, 18, 

25. 
Extent  of  the  Forum,  2. 


Fabius,  arch  of,  126. 

Fasti,  hung  in  the  Forum,  166. 

Fates  or  Sibyls,  the  Three,  79. 

Faustina,  temple  of,  279. 

Ficus  Navia,  171. 

Ruminalis,  170. 

Figtree,  at  the  Lacus  Curtius,  73 
Fish-market,  220. 

Flavins,  Cn.,  his  Temple  of  Concord,  165, 
182. 

Fora,  imperial,  247-270. 

rectangular  plan  of,  249. 

Fornix  Fabius,  126. 

Forum,  Augustum,  262-264. 

wall  of,  262. 
Caesaris,  247-261. 
etymology  of  the  word,  146,  note 

389 
Julium,  247-261. 
Magnum,  261. 
Mincrvae,  265. 
Nervae,  265. 
Pacis,  266. 
Pervium,  265. 
Piscatorium,  220. 
Romanum,  extent  of,  2. 

infimum,  40,  97. 
medium,  40. 
originally  a  market,  2, 

146. 
physical  topography  of, 

1. 
various  uses  of,  i.  ii. 
Trajani,  256,  270. 
Transitorium,  265. 
Ulpiura,  256,  270. 

Galba,  scenes  of  his  death,  75,  239. 

Games,  gladiatorial,  in  the  Forum,  92,  93. 

Gate,  see  Porta. 

Gemoniae  Scalae,  4,10,  11. 

site  of,  189. 

Genius  populi  Romani,  statue  of,  19. 

temple  of,  19. 

Gradus  Aurelii,  81. 
Graecostadium,  161,  183. 
Graecostasis,  161,  183. 


Ilermodorus,  statue  of,  174. 
Horatia  Pila,  82. 


INDEX. 


333 


i 


h 


!' 


'  'I 


I 


Ilorrea  Pipcrataria,  283. 

Idulia,  procession  of,  277. 

Infima  Nova  Via,  306,  307. 

Infimum  Argiletum,  230,  231,  273. 
Forum,  40,  97. 

Inn  in  the  Forum,  134. 

Janus  Geminus,  223-232,  272. 

closing  and  opening  of, 

227. 
Me«lius,   summus,    imus, 

240-243. 
QuadrifTons,  229,  266. 

Janus,  a  street,  240-243. 

Julia,  her  assignations  at  the  Rostra,  72, 
205. 

JuliaRostra,  139,210,  211. 

Julius  Caesar,  funeral  of,  137,  208-214. 

residence  of,  at  the  Regia, 

122. 
statues  of,  89. 
temple  of,  134-140. 

Juno  Moncta,  temple  of,  15. 

Jupiter  Stator,  temple  of,  280,  311-318. 

Juturna,  pool  of,  98,  109. 

Lacus  Curtius,  73 — 76. 
Juturnae,  98, 109. 
Servilius,  36. 

Lamm  aedes,  289. 

Lautolac,  271-273,  275. 

Lautnmiae,  274. 

Lepidus  the  triumvir,  statue  of,  89. 

Levels  of  the  Forum,  83. 

Libonis  Puteal,  127-129. 

Library  of  Apollo,  320. 
Pollio,  252. 
Trajan,  257. 

Li  via,  porticus  of,  295,  note  817. 

Maeniana,  55. 

Maenius,  atrium  of,  218. 

Columnof,  172,  178,  180,  191. 

statue  of,  88. 
Magnanapoli,  via,  270. 
Mars  Ultor,  temple  of,  262. 
Marsyas,  statue  of,  69-72. 


Medium  Forum,  40. 

Medius  Janus,  240-243. 

Meridies,  how  determined,  175. 

Milliarium  Aureum,  19,  37-39. 

Minerva,  temple  of,  142,  247,  265. 
forum  of,  265. 

Minervae  Atrium,  159,  160,  186. 

Money-lenders  of  the  Forum,  131-133. 

Mugionia  porta,  305,  310,  319,  321. 

Navia  ficus,  171. 

Nero,  fire  of,  320. 

golden  house  of,  291. 

Nerva,  forum  of,  265. 

Notitia,  Appendi.r. 

Nova  Via,  109,  .305-327. 

Octavius,  Cn.,  house  of,  284. 
statue  of,  87. 
Opalia,  36. 

Opimia  Basilica,  12,  13,  167. 
Opimius,  his  temple  of  Concord,  13,  14. 
Ops,  temple  of,  35,  36. 
Otho,  insurrection  of,  38,  324. 

Palatine  Hill,  houses  upon,  283-286, 320. 

Palatium,  gates  of,  319,  327. 

Palladium,  113. 

Pandana  porta,  28. 

Paulli,  Basilica,  233. 

Paullus,  Aemilius,  baths  of,  270. 

Pavement  of  the  Forum,  84. 

Peace,  forum  of,  266. 

temple  of,  266,  282. 

Penatum  aedes,  302,  303. 

Phocas,  column  of,  59,  221. 

Pictures,  in  temple  of  Concord,  14. 
in  the  Curia  Julia,  158. 
on  the  Curia  Hostilia,  152. 
on  the  Ta])ernae,  58. 

Pila  Horatia,  82 

Piso  Licinianus,  murder  of,  117. 

Plan,  antique,  of  Rome,  on  marble,  12, 
26,  184,  255,  267,  295,  325. 

Pompey,  statue  of,  88. 


334 


INDEX. 


INDEX. 


335 


Pontifex  Maximus,  111,  123, 

Porcia  Basilica,  83,  218-222. 

Porsenna,  statue  of,  174, 

Prison,  5-10. 

Prison  of  St,  Peter,  G. 

Procession,  of  the  Idiilia,  277. 

of  the  Knights  to  Castor,  01, 

106. 
of  the  ludl  Itomaniy  91. 

Porta  Carmentalis,  34. 
Janualis,  223,  225, 
Mugionia,  305,  310,  319,  321. 
Pandana,  28, 
Komana,  322,  323, 
Romanula,  30G,  322-326, 
Saturnia,  28, 
Stercoraria,  34. 

Porticus  deum  Consentum,  32. 
Julia,  129, 
Liviae,  294,  note  817, 

Publieola,  house  of,  301. 

Puteal  of  Attus  Navius,  129. 
of  Libo,  127-129. 

Pythagoras,  statue  of,  173. 

Regia,  118-125, 

Regions,  catalogue  of  the  Augustan,  Ap- 
pendix. 

distributiou  of  the  imperial  fora  ! 
in  the  fourth  and  eighth,  248. 

boundaries    of    the   fourth  and 
tenth,  286. 

Rex  Sacrificulus,  house  of,  276,  289. 

Romanula  Porta,  306,  322-326. 

Rome  and  Venus,  temple  of,  291,  296. 

Rostra,  chapter  on,  197-217. 
form  of,  206. 
public  funerals  at,  202, 
removal  of,  202,  215. 
statues  at,  86-89,  203. 
of  the  Comitium,  196-202,  216. 
site  of,  198. 
of  the  Forum,  69,  204. 
site  of.  76,  204. 
Augusti,  217. 
Julia,  139,  210,  211. 

Ruminal  figtree,  72,  170. 

Sacra  Via,  46,  276-299. 
Salvidienus,  house  of,  134. 


Saturn  and  Vespasian,  controversy  about 
temples  of,  22-26. 

Saturn,  city  of,  27,  28. 
hill  of,  27. 
temple  of,  23,  27-31. 

Satumia  Porta,  28. 

Scalae  Gemoniae,  4,  10,  11. 
site  of,  189. 

Scaurus,  house  of,  284. 

Schola  Xantha,  33. 

Scipio,  house  of,  51. 

Sejanus,  statues  of,  90. 
fall  of,  5,  9. 

Senaculum,  167,  168,  169,  182. 
Senate  met  in  temple  of  Castor,  99. 

Concord,  16, 17. 
Mars  Ultor,  263. 
Jupiter    Stator, 

280, 
Venus  Genitrix, 
258. 
Septa,  of  the  Comitium,  61,  note  151, 
Forum,  105, 142, 

Severus,  arch  of,  17,  190. 

equestrian  statue  of,  79. 
Sibyls,  statues  of  the  three,  79. 

Slaves,  testimony  of,  taken  by  deposition 

252. 
manumission  of,  256. 
Stationes  Municipiorum,  166. 
Stator  Temple,  2:^0,  311-318. 
Statue  of  Alcibiades,  173. 

<   Antonius  (L.),  89. 

Attus  Navius,  170. 

Augustus,  89, 

Aurelius,  18. 

Cloelia,  311-314, 

Constantine,  18, 

Domitian,  77. 

Hermodorus  174. 

Horatius  Codes,  164. 

Lepidus,  89. 

Maenius,  81, 

Marsyas,  70. 

Octavius  (Cn.),  87. 

Pompey,  88. 

Porsenna,  174. 

Pythagoras,  173. 

Sejanus,  90. 

Severus,  78. 

Sulla,  88,  203. 

Sulpicius,  87,  217,  note  591. 


I 


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Statue  of  Tremulus,  89,  108. 
Vertumnus,  50. 
Victory  in  the  Curia,  157,  158. 

Statues  in  the  Comitium,  173. 
in  the  Forum,  89,  90. 
at  the  Rostra,  86-89,  203,  217. 

Sub  Velia,  269,  304. 

Sulla,  statue  of,  88,  203. 

Sulpicius,  statue  of,  87,  217, 

Summa  Nova  Via,  305,  309. 

Summa  Sacra  Via,  276,  283,  289,  290, 
298,  302, 

Sun,  position  of,  observed  from  the  Comi- 
tium, 175, 

Suprema  ^cw_/;<'«ffl5,  how  determined,  176, 
179, 

Tabemae  of  the  Forum,  51-59, 

paintings  on,  56. 

Tabemae  Argentariae,  54, 
Novae,  54,  55,  58, 
Septem,  54, 
Veteres,  54, 55, 57. 

Tabula  Valeria,  152. 

Tabularium,  3,  182. 

doorway  of,  behind  temple  of 

Concord,  182. 
behind  temple  of  Vespasian, 
27. 

Tarquin,  house  of,  305,  309,  319. 

Temple  of  Antoninus,  279. 
Apollo,  320. 
Castor,  97-108, 
Concord,  11-17,165,182, 
Faustina,  279. 
Felicity,  153. 
Julius,'l34-140. 
Jupiter  Stator,  280,  311-318. 
Janus,  223-232. 
Libertas,  253. 
the  Lares,  289. 
IMars  Ultor,  262. 
Minerva,  142,  247,  265. 
Ops,  35. 
Peace,  266,  282. 
the  Penates,  302. 
Romulus,  281. 
Saturn,  21-31. 
Stator,  280,  311,  318, 
Trajan,  270, 
Vespasian,  21-27, 
Venus  Genitrix,  257-260. 


Temple  of  Venus  and  Roma,  291-294. 
Vesta,  110-117. 
Vicapota,  270-302. 
Victory,  270,  302,  324. 

Temples,  contracts  for  repair  of,  100-102. 
deposit  of  treasure  in,  29, 35, 107. 

Templum,  what,  114,  156,  197. 

Tiberius,  arch  of,  21,  46. 

temple  of  Castor  restored  by,  105. 
temple  of  Concord  restored  by, 

13,  15. 
triumph  of,  20. 

Tiridates,  coronation  of,  95. 

Titus,  arch  of,  296. 
temple  of,  27. 

Trajan,  column  of,  271. 

monument  of,  in  the  Forum,  60- 

78. 
forum  of,  256,  270. 
temple  of,  271. 

Transitorium  Forum,  265, 

Treasury  in  temple  of  Saturn,  29,  31, 

Trenmlus,  Q.  Marcius,  statue  of,  89,  108. 

Tribunal  Aurelium,  81. 

of  the  Comitium,  20, 129, 147, 192. 

site  of,  192. 

of  the  centumvlri,  45. 

of  the  praetor,  129,  147,  192. 

of  the  triumviri  capitales,  147. 

Tribunals  of  the  Forum,  form  of,  194. 

Triumphs,  their  course,  31. 

captives  led  in,  put  to  death, 
32. 

Trinmphalis  via,  31, 

Tullianum,  5,  8, 


Ulpian  basilica,  270. 
forum,  270. 
libraries,  271. 

Umbilicus  Romae,  18,  39. 

Urbis  templum,  296. 

Usurers  of  the  Forum,  131-133. 


Valeria  tabula,  152. 

Velabrum,  306. 

Velia,  299-304. 

Venens  Cluacinae  signa,  239. 


336 


INDEX. 


Venus  and  Rome,  temple  of,  291-294. 

Venns  Genitrix,  temple  of,  257-260, 

Verres,  exhibition  of    his    pictures    and 
statues,  149. 

extortion  of  money  bj,  for  repair 
of  temple  of  Castor,  100-102. 

Vertumnus,  statue  of,  50. 

Vespasian,  temple  of,  26. 

Vesta,  temple  of,  110-117. 
statues  of,  113. 
jjrove  of,  118. 
sacrum  of,  in  Palatium,  1 23. 

Vestal  Virgins,  111,  149 

house  of,  118. 


Via  Nova,  305-327. 
.      Sacra,  46,  279-299. 

Via  Triumphalis,  31. 

Victoriae  clivus,  323,  324. 

Victory,  altar  of,  in  the  Curia,  158. 

sacrum  of,  above  the  Lupercal, 

324. 
statue  of,  in  the  Curia,  157,  158. 

Vicus  Jugarius,  34. 
Turarius,  49. 
Tuscus,  47-50. 

Vulcanal,  162-165. 

site  of,  191. 

Xantha  schola,  33. 


ERRATA. 


Page  27,  note  «2.  For  note  168  read  note  173. 

Page  42,  line  13.  For  four  hundred  read  three  hundred  and  forty. 

Page  42,  note  ».  For  note  162  read  note  167. 

Page  42,  note  *.  For  note  170  read  note  175. 

Page  44,  line  7.  For  B.C.  12  read  A.D.  12. 

Page  109,  line  8.  For  Vestatibus  read  Vestalibus. 

Page  113,  7iote  "^  For  videt  read  vidit. 


(■ 


Westminster:  Printed  by  Nichols  and  Sons,  25,  Parliament  Street. 


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aass   §f;jg  Book  N  512. 

Columbia  College  Libra^ 

Madison  Av.  and  49th  St.  New  York. 

Beside  the  main  topic  this  book  also  treats  of 
Subject  No  On  page  Subject  No.  On  page 


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.^a-i  .a^.  .-^..JM-.^.iJi^*. 


\ 


II 


MAPS  AND  PLANS 


OF  THE 


FORUM    OF    ROME 


MAPS  AND  PLANS 


OF  THE 


FOliUM  OF  ROME 


AND  ITS  NEIGHBOURHOOD 


FROM 


^.■(U 


/\ 


NICHOLS'S  ROMAN  FORUM 


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LONDON  LONGMANS  AND  CO.  &   E.  STANFORD 

ROME  SPITHOVER 

1877 


I 

i 


WESTMINSTER  : 

PRINTED  BY  NICHOLS  AND  SONS, 

25,  PARLIAMENT  STREET. 


ADVERTISEMENT. 


In  the  plans  representing-  tlie  ancient  condition 
of  the  Forum  the  buildings  and  monuments  whose 
sites  are  considered  to  be  determined  with  cer- 
tainty by  existing  remains  are  distinguished  by 
names  written  in  roman  characters  and  by  a  dark 
tint;  those  whose  locality  is  more  or  less  a  matter 
of  speculation  have  the  names  in  italic,  and  are 
tinted  light.  For  the  justification  of  the  positions 
in  which  they  are  represented,  the  author  must 
refer  to  his  book,  ''  The  Roman  Forum,  a  Topo- 
graphical Study.     1877." 


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V 


I. 


CONTENTS. 


I.  The  Forum  in  the  time  of  Constantine. 

11.  The    Excaviitions  in  the   Forum,  with  the  surrounding 
Streets,  1877. 

III.  Tlie  fragments  of  tlie  Caj)itoline  Plan  relating  to  the 

Forum. 

IV.  The  Forum  in  the  time  of  Augustus. 

V.  The  Roman    Forum,    with    the    surrounding    Fora  and 
Streets,  in  the  time  of  Constantine. 


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